Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don’t Let Me Fall
by zennou-sakusha
Summary: HxB Koenma needs a bride. Botan needs help. Hiei just wants to be left alone. When they clash, chaos ensues. Will their problems ever be solved?
1. Poor Botan

I didn't really mean for this to turn into a fic; I was just writing down some random things inspired by my thoughts on Hiei/Botan stories. Ever notice that in almost every H/B fic, Koenma always rejected Botan for a ferry girl? But what if Botan rejects Koenma for someone? What would happen then? And what if that person was Hiei?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 1: Poor Botan**

"Argh, I HATE MY LIFE!" Botan screamed as she took out her oar and started hitting a tree with it. She was in a park in Ningenkai, and luckily there was nobody else around to witness this display of anger since it was already nighttime. Before coming to this park, she had been wandering around aimlessly for hours, having no place to go since she couldn't go back to Reikai.

She continued her assault on the poor defenseless tree until she hit it a bit too hard and her oar broke in half. Fuming, she flung it to the ground and screamed into the night sky - a heart-stopping, glass shattering scream of pure fury.

Suddenly, whatever strange force of energy that had surged through Botan's body, enabling her to take out all of this anger, left her completely, and she slumped to the ground. All of her rage turned into grief, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Why... why did this have to happen to ME! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS!" she shouted to the clear night sky.

"Hn, quit yelling, baka onna."

Surprised that someone had found her, she turned around to see Hiei standing with a scowl on his face. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Hiei eyed her tear-stained face in disgust and replied, "That idiot Koenma forced everyone to search for you."

"He would do that, wouldn't he..." Botan said, looking down at her hands. The very person she had been running from had sent people looking for her. Just her luck.

"Get up already and go back to where you belong so I can leave, onna."

Botan looked up at Hiei with sorrowful eyes. "I belong nowhere."

The fire demon became curious at this cryptic response but didn't show it in his expression. He had wondered why Koenma was so anxious about his missing ferry girl; after all, members of Koenma's staff have gone missing before, yet this was the first time the godling had ever seemed genuinely concerned. Perhaps the fire demon would find out the reasons behind all of this from the ferry girl.

He waited for Botan to explain herself or at least get up off the ground, but she just went back to staring at her hands, purposely ignoring Hiei. Occasionally a tear would fall down her cheek, but she had stopped her sobbing.

"Are you going to get up, or am I going to have to force you?" Hiei threatened.

Shakily, the ferry girl stood up, leaning on a tree for support. She took a few steps before stumbling and falling, and would have hit the ground if Hiei hadn't caught her. He carried her to a nearby bench and set her down.

He waited for her to stand up again, but she didn't. Instead, she sat stared at the ground, as if she thought that Hiei would go away if she ignored him long enough. Unfortunately for her, Hiei was a stubborn fire demon, and he wasn't about to go away after searching for her for half the night.

"What the heck is wrong with you! Get up and go back to Reikai already!" Hiei said, staring at her with his unnerving crimson eyes. He had noticed something very strange about her appearance, and he finally realized what was missing: her smile. Botan always had a smile on her face, but not today. In its place was a sad, gloomy look that didn't suit the usually-cheerful girl at all.

Botan glared coldly at him as she answered, "You want to know what's wrong with me! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME! MY BEST FRIEND HAS JUST DECLARED HIS UNDYING LOVE FOR ME!"

Hiei remained silent as she continued ranting. "I knew I should have never trusted him to be nothing more than my friend! Just when I trust him enough to tell him one of my biggest secrets, he just has to tell me that he loves me! Argh, I HATE THAT JERK! He doesn't even realize I'm already in love with someone else..."

The fire demon let his curiosity get the best of him and asked, "What happened?"

Botan didn't reply, so Hiei sat down beside her on the bench. "Tell me what happened, onna."

She sighed and said, "You're not going to go away until I tell, are you?"

Taking his silence as a yes, she sighed and began explaining...

**+Flashback+**

A few weeks ago Botan had discovered that she was in love with someone. For days, she kept it a secret until she was dying to tell someone, so she wanted her best friend, Koenma, to be the first to know. She walked into his office, but before she could say a word, Koenma announced that he was in love with her and that his father had arranged for them to be married.

Speechless at this unexpected announcement, Botan couldn't do anything but stutter as Koenma started describing how absolutely wonderful this wedding would be. Finally gaining control of herself, she told Koenma that she didn't like him that way and that she was already in love with someone else. Enraged, Koenma fired her from her job as a ferry girl.

This made Botan furious; first, she loses her best friend and now she loses her job. She escaped to Ningenkai before Koenma could try to force her into marriage and had wandered around. Finally she ended up at this park, where Hiei found her.

**+End Flashback+**

Botan looked at Hiei, who hadn't replied yet, and said bitterly, "There, that's what happened. Now you can call me a baka and drag me back to Koenma so I can be forced into marrying that jerk."

Still, Hiei didn't respond. He simply continued to stare into her eyes until she couldn't take his gaze any longer and looked down at the ground. They sat there in a tense silence as Hiei thought about what Botan had said.

This made perfect sense. Koenma was much more anxious than he had been when other ferry girls or Reikai personal had gone missing. When Koenma had told the Spirit Detectives that she was gone, all he said to them was that she hadn't shown up for work and that nobody had seen her in Reikai for hours. Only one detail was missing in Botan's story, and Hiei finally broke the silence to ask the one question that had been on his mind.

"Who?"

Startled at the sudden outburst, Botan looked at Hiei and asked, "Nani?"

"Who? Who are you in love with?"

"Oh..." Botan stared once more at the ground and - was that a blush spreading across her face?

"Who, onna?"

Botan refused to look up as she continued to say nothing.

Hiei grew impatient quickly, wondering why she refused to answer such a simple question. Again, he asked, "Who, onna!"

The former ferry girl muttered something so quiet that not even Hiei with his superior demonic sense of hearing could understand her.

Annoyed that she wouldn't just answer the question already, Hiei asked, "Who?"

"...You," she finally answered, still refusing to look at him.


	2. Help Me, You Jerk!

**Last Chapter...**

_Annoyed that she wouldn't just answer the question already, Hiei asked, "Who?"_

_"...You," she finally answered, still refusing to look at him._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 2: Help Me, You Jerk!**

Hiei's eyes grew wide at this sudden confession, and he gawked at her, wondering if he had heard correctly. He had expected someone like Yusuke or Kurama, or even Kuwabara, but himself? That was simply inconceivable!

Finally making eye contact with the confused fire demon, Botan mistook his silence as rejection and asked, "I'm sorry. Do you... hate me for it?"

Botan waited as Hiei thought about what had just happened. Finally, he asked, "Why? Why are you in love with ME of all creatures!"

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. You're an arrogant, heartless, thieving fire demon that has probably never cared about anyone the way I care about you."

Hiei glared at her, wondering if she was trying to injure his dignity.

"But I've seen you with your sister; I've seen that other side of you. I know that you can be caring and protective. On your missions with Yusuke, I have seen your honor and fierce loyalty. And I know for a fact that you're really cute. You've got to be the cutest demon I have ever seen."

The fire demon blushed, unused to hearing anyone talk about him like this. Botan noticed and smiled for the first time in what seemed to be ages. Suddenly, any shyness or nervousness she had felt towards him disappeared when she realized he was just as uncomfortable as she was in this situation.

Trying his best to hide how flustered he was, Hiei said, "Hn, baka onna. You shouldn't love me."

"Why not! You are a perfectly good demon!"

"I'm the Forbidden Child. Nobody is supposed to love me, and I am not supposed to love anyone. That is the way it has been and the way it shall be."

"Well, since when have you ever done what you're supposed to do! And don't you love your sister? If you can love her, then I think you can love me!"

"My love for Yukina is different. She is my twin sister; she is a part of me. I'd be a fool if I didn't love her." Hiei continued, "Feelings are a weakness. I have already allowed too many people into my heart, and I am not going to allow one more."

"Fine, be that way. I'm going to make you fall in love with me, Hiei! I promise you that I will keep trying, even if it takes so long that you're already dead and I have to follow your ghost around!"

Hiei didn't like the way this conversation was headed and decided to change the subject. "Are you going back to Reikai or not?"

Botan gave the question some thought: Should she stay in Ningenkai and let Koenma continue searching for her, or should she go back to Reikai and face her former best friend?

And then, inspiration hit Botan with an idea, and the more she thought about it, the brighter the world seemed to be. A smile crept onto her face, her eyes seemed to become brighter, and inside she felt like a huge weight had been taken off of her shoulders.

"...Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"If I go back to Reikai, could you possibly come with me?" she asked as sweetly as possible.

"What do you want from me?" Hiei asked suspiciously.

"Can you pretend, even if it might never happen in a million years, can you _please_ at least pretend to love me in front of Koenma? If you do that, then maybe he will leave me alone."

"Why should I?"

"I'll give you something in return."

"What?"

"Anything you want."

"Anything?"

"YES! Please, just help me make Koenma leave me alone! Please, Hiei!" Botan pleaded, as she looked at him with a pitiful face, hoping against hope he would accept.

"...Hn..."

"Come on, Hiei, I'll do anything! Just help me this once!"

"..."

"Please, Hiei! I'd do the same for you! You know I would! Please, I'm begging you!"

"...No."

Botan glared at him and said, "Oh, I see how it is. You could care less if someone does something for you, but the moment someone asks you to help them, oh it's SUCH a big deal! The great Hiei-sama-bighead won't do ANYTHING for ANYBODY unless he gets something out of it! SELFISH JERK! If you think for one moment that I'm going to just leave you alone, then you've got another thing coming!"

As she said all of this, Hiei just stared at her with a calm, emotionless expression on his face that made Botan infuriated, thinking that none of what she said was going into his thick head.

The former ferry girl was extremely mad, to say the least. Fueled by her anger, she stood up and continued the lecture.

"Okay, okay, I understand you don't really have to help me. But just because you don't have to doesn't mean you shouldn't! You know what? If you weren't such an adorable fire demon, I'd probably be over at Kurama's asking for his help! So, don't go blaming me for dragging you into my troubles with best-friends-gone-bad; BLAME YOUR OWN DARN CUTENESS!"

As the lecture continued, Botan was getting angrier and angrier while Hiei was getting more and more annoyed by the second. The fire demon had to restrain himself from doing something that would get him sent to Reikai prison for the next millennium or two.

"If you don't help me, then you, Hiei, are a STUPID, selfish JERK!"

Botan became so caught up in her speech that she slapped Hiei, leaving a red mark on his face. She huffed and sat back down on the park bench, feeling much better.

Hiei was absolutely shocked that somebody would have the nerve to actually lecture him, much less slap him! He wasn't some obedient mutt who gave a girl complete and utter control over him, like Yusuke or Kuwabara.

"Did you just SLAP me!"

Botan glowered at him. "Yes, and I'd do it again!"

Now Hiei wasn't just annoyed - he was FURIOUS. Nobody, and that means NOBODY, would get away with slapping him without Hiei doing something about it.

Unaware of what he was planning, Botan said, "You need a good slapping every once in a while, Mr. Insensitive! If you- ACK!"

Hiei tackled her, effectively pinning her to the bench. He growled, "Don't you DARE ever slap me again!"

Despite the fact that she was entirely at his mercy, Botan smiled and said knowingly, "I'm annoying you, aren't I? Am I making you mad? Angry? Furious? You know, if you agree to help me I'll stop bugging you."

Hiei let Botan go and sat back down on the bench, knowing that she had won. He couldn't harm her; that would be dishonorable, and Hiei wasn't about to feel guilty for killing a helpless woman. She simply left him with no other choice...

"...I know I'm going to regret this..." he muttered darkly. "You really owe me for this, but... I'll help you."

"Oh, THANK YOU! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Botan couldn't help it; she threw herself at Hiei and wrapped both of her arms around him. The grateful girl hugged him with all of her might, almost choking him.

Such intimate physical contact foreign to him, the demon pried her off of him and glared at her. "Don't hug me. I will go to Reikai with you, but first I need to take care of things here."

"What?"

Instead of answering her, Hiei stood up and took off his headband that covered up his Jagan. The Jagan glowed as it did what the fire demon requested: find Koenma and the other Reikai Tantei. It searched everywhere, eventually placing everyone at Kurama's ningen home.

Satisfied with what it had found, Hiei replaced his headband and said, "Let's go."

Botan stood up as Hiei started walking away. She ran to catch up with him.

"Wait, where are we going!"

"Kurama's."

"But... why? And isn't that like ten miles from here? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WALK THERE!"

"Use your oar."

Botan held up her broken oar sheepishly and said, "Uh, I can't exactly use it any more..."

"Then walk."

"B-but, I can't!"

Hiei glared at her. "What do you want me to do, carry you?"

"...Could you?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No. Find your own way there or stay behind."

"You're not going to just LEAVE me here, are you!"

"Watch me."

The fire demon turned his back to her and started walking away. Botan thought quickly; should she walk or stay where she was? The girl chose neither. Instead, she did something that may very well get her killed.

Launching herself at the unsuspecting demon, Botan threw her arms around him and attached herself to his waist. Hiei was startled and immediately stopped walking.

"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING WITHOUT ME!"

Annoyed, Hiei tried to pry her off of him but Botan was clinging to him like a leech. She kept her arms around his waist and wouldn't let go for anything.

"Baka onna! LET GO OF ME!"

"NEVER!"

The angered fire demon momentarily considered hitting her on the head with his sword, but that wouldn't be right. If only he didn't have such a strict honor code...

Hiei sighed and finally just started walking to Kurama's house, dragging Botan.

"This would be a lot easier on both of us if you'd just let go," Hiei said after walking a few feet.

"Not unless you carry me!"

Hiei was very irritated. Here he was, doing Botan a FAVOR, and she wouldn't walk a measly ten miles without being carried.

"For the last time, NO, I WILL NOT CARRY YOU!"

_"Please?"_ Botan asked, looking up at him with those puppy dog eyes that are so hard to resist. Her lip quivered, and her eyes watered. She knew most guys would give in to this irresistible face, and she hoped Hiei was among them.

Hiei's right eye started twitching, as it always did when he was trying to control his temper. He tried to glare at Botan but couldn't seem to resist the pathetic look she was giving him. Finally, he sighed resignedly and muttered, "Fine... I'll... carry you..."

Immediately, she let go of his waist and hugged him. "YAY! I knew you loved me!"

"I don't love you, and QUIT HUGGING ME!" Hiei told her as he pushed her away.

"Aw, come on, I know you like hugs! Everybody likes hugs!"

"No, I do not like hugs."

"Yes you do."

"No I do not."

"Then do you like this better?" Botan said and she kissed his forehead.

Hiei closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten, trying to calm down. He couldn't allow himself to kill her, especially since Koenma was so attached to her. Unfortunately, he couldn't run away either since he promised to help her, and Hiei never went back on his word.

"No, I do not like that better..."

"Yes you do! Admit it; there's a horny demon inside of you just waiting to be let loose!"

"..."

"Then do you like THIS-"

Before she could bug him any more, Hiei scooped Botan up and started running as fast as he could to Kurama's house. Since Hiei appeared to be a mere blur to the human eye when running at his top speed, they were there in a matter of seconds.


	3. Confusion and Secrecy

**Last Chapter...**

_Before she could bug him any more, Hiei scooped Botan up and started running as fast as he could to Kurama's house. Since Hiei appeared to be a mere blur to the human eye when running at his top speed, they were there in a matter of seconds._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 3: Confusion and Secrecy**

When Hiei and Botan arrived, they were on a high branch in the tree that grew right beside Kurama's bedroom window. Hiei dumped Botan unceremoniously and she looked down at the ground warily.

"Uh, Hiei? Why are we in a TREE!"

"Be quiet and stay here. They're inside."

Ignoring her many protests and questions, Hiei opened the unlocked window to the kitsune's room and walked inside. Before she could try to follow, he shut the window and exited the bedroom, heading to the living room where Koenma and the other Reikai Tantei were gathered.

Hiei was going to launch step one of Botan's plan. He knew Koenma was here, so he decided to use a little persuasion to make the god see things his way. Hopefully this would help speed up the whole process, which meant Hiei could stop pretending to love the girl sooner. Of course, being the stubborn guy that he is, Hiei didn't tell Botan what he was doing.

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked up at him, not expecting him to come in from upstairs. Before any greetings could be exchanged, Koenma immediately started questioning him.

"Have you found her? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Hiei glared at the godling and answered, "No, you baka, I haven't found her. Do you see her with me!"

Koenma frowned and said, "Can't you use your Jagan or something to find her?"

Everyone else, which included Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama since the girls had long since been sent home for some much needed sleep, glanced at Hiei, hoping he would be able to find her. They were all anxious about Botan and had worried about her well-being ever since she went missing. Of everyone there, they had expected Hiei to be the first to find any kind of clue to her whereabouts since he had use of the Jagan.

How ironic - he HAD used his Jagan to find her...

But they didn't need to know that. "You fool, I have already looked, and she is nowhere to be found."

"THEN LOOK AGAIN!" Koenma ordered.

"She'll be found when she wants to, so quit this incessant searching already and be patient!"

When put like that, it sounded as though Botan was hiding. But if she had been kidnapped by some srange demon, like they assumed she was, then of course she would want to be found. How odd...

Koenma gave Hiei his best death glare and warned, "If I find that you're hiding something, I swear you will be put in Reikai prison for a whole millennium with absolutely no parole!"

Hiei just glared back and answered, "Your petty threats hold no meaning to me. Why are you so upset? This isn't the first time a ferry girl has gone missing. Unless, of course, there is something going on that you're not telling us..."

His statement set off alarms in the others' heads. What in the three worlds were Hiei and Koenma hiding?

Kurama in particular wanted to know what it was that Hiei found. Of course, the fox had also sensed Koenma's abnormal anxiety. Naturally curious, the kitsune was not about to be left out of this interesting information and planned to find out from Hiei soon enough, even if it did require bribery or blackmail.

Yusuke asked, "What the heck is going on! What do you two know that we don't!"

"Yeah, if you know where she is, shrimp, you better tell us!" Kuwabara added.

Hiei ignored them, only paying attention to the god before him. "Godling, call it off or I swear I will tell everybody what happened. I highly doubt that you would want others to know, especially your _father_."

Of course, what Hiei meant for Koenma to call off was the prearranged wedding.

"Call WHAT off!" Kuwabara asked, bewlidered. "Okay, Hiei, you know something we don't, so spill already!"

Koenma's eyes widened as it dawned on him that Hiei knew about the wedding and Botan's refusal. The godling would be absolutely horrified if everyone found out the truth before he had the chance to make Botan his bride, so, for now, he had to go along with Hiei's little game and do what the fire demon wanted.

Koenma gulped nervously and said, "Hiei, what do you want from me?"

"Leave her alone, and none of this ever happened."

"I can't do that, as you should already know." Koenma, hoping to change the subject, then asked, "Why do you suddenly care, anyway? Were you not the one who didn't want to search for her?"

"That is none of your business, godling. Go back to Reikai and wait for us to come to you."

"...Fine," Koenma agreed reluctantly.

"Wait, wait, wait! Who's 'us'? What's going on!" Yusuke interrupted.

"Why are you two being so secretive! We all know you're hiding something, so just tell us already!" Kuwabara demanded.

Kurama remained silent, trying to understand what Hiei and Koenma were thinking.

Before anything more could be said, something -er, some_one_ - practically flew down the stairs and attached itself to Hiei, hugging him from behind.

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU JUST LEAVE ME THERE! And you didn't even explain what you were doing! Don't you have any manners-"

**"BOTAN!"**

Botan looked up with her arms still locked around Hiei in a fierce bear hug and seemed to notice everyone else for the first time. She smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh... So that's what you meant by 'They're inside...'"

"Did I not tell you to stay there!" Hiei said through gritted teeth as he tried to control his temper, watching all of his efforts to help Botan go to waste. Everyone else stared wide-eyed at the blue-haired girl, still wondering what was going on, how she got inside, and, more importantly, why Hiei hadn't killed her yet.

Koenma felt overjoyed at first, relieved to see his beloved safe. But then he remembered the reason why she disappeared in the first place, and he scowled deeply, wondering if HIEI was the one she was in love with.

"Botan," Koenma greeted her coldly.

Botan released the annoyed fire demon immediately as soon as she saw Koenma and greeted him just as frigidly, "Koenma."

"I will be expecting you back in Reikai to discuss our previous arrangements," Koenma told her as he turned and left before anybody could do anything to stop him.

"What the heck was that all about!" Yusuke asked Hiei and Botan. Everyone else turned their attention to the mysterious pair.

Botan feigned cluelessness and told them, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!" Kuwabara argued. "Something's going on between you, the toddler, and the shrimp!"

Grinning impishly, Yusuke added, "Not to mention, you and Hiei seem pretty close, ne? Normally he would kill anyone who dared to hug him, but he doesn't seem to mind with you..."

Botan looked at Hiei purposefully, trying to make him realize that this was the time to pretend to be in love. Hiei noticed this and reluctantly decided to go along with it.

"Should you tell them the news, or should I?"

"Hn."

"Fine, I will then!" Botan announced as she turned to look at everyone. "Hiei and I are in love!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at this preposterous declaration. Nobody was willing to believe for even one moment that Botan and Hiei were a couple.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"The shrimp, in love? Yeah, right!"

Kurama said nothing as he looked at Hiei, wondering what the fire demon's opinion of this was. Unfortunately, Hiei kept a blank face and did nothing to give away his feelings.

The fox decided to take a more direct approach and asked, "Hiei? Do you have anything to say for yourself? Is what Botan said really true?"

Grudgingly, Hiei looked at him and answered, "...Yes."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama couldn't believe it - Yusuke and Kuwabara because they considered Botan and Hiei to be exact opposites who wouldn't fall in love if they were the last two beings left in the three worlds, but Kurama doubted them for a different reason. He knew that something was going on between Hiei, Botan, and Koenma that caused all of these strange things to happen, but so far, the clever fox hadn't figured it out yet.

"I don't believe it! Since when!"

Botan smiled and answered truthfully, "Since today!"

"You're kidding. That's impossible!"

"Prove it!"

"How?" Botan asked.

Yusuke smirked evilly and said, "Do something to Hiei that he wouldn't let anybody else do unless he loved them."

"Uh, like what?"

"I don't know, kiss him or something."

Hiei glared at Yusuke and said, "What did you just say! I don't have to prove anything; my word should be good enough for you, ningen."

Yusuke seemed unfazed by this and grinned wickedly. "Seeing is believing, ne?"

Botan didn't seem to mind his request at all and asked, "Okay, so how do I show you?"

"Kiss Hiei, and if he doesn't kill you, then that's proof enough."

Shrugging nonchalantly, she answered, "Okay."

Hiei's body tensed as Botan leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She had wanted to do this for so long, ever since she discovered her true feelings for the fire demon.

As strange as it may sound, the best part was that there were witnesses, so Hiei could deny that it happened but Botan would have evidence!

Hiei felt like killing Yusuke for making them 'prove their love' when all he wanted was to see an embarrassed fire demon, but Hiei had to restrain himself so that everyone believed that he truly was in love with Botan. Hiei had to exert even more self-control when Yusuke and Kuwabara started laughing after seeing this public display of affection between the unlikely couple. Eventually Kuwabara's face turned red from laughing so hard, and Yusuke was rolling on the ground in mirth.

Botan glared at the two laughing boys and summoned her metal baseball bat. Hands on her hips, she warned, "You had better not be laughing at me and MY fire baby!"

Suddenly, Yusuke and Kuwabara forgot what was so funny. Yusuke got up from the floor and Kuwabara gulped nervously, his face visibly pale. They backed away very slowly, suddenly extremely aware of how dangerous females can be when angered.

Botan rushed forward, ready to attack with her metal baseball bat. The two frightened boys ran like they never ran before, afraid of what might happen if they dared to stay and endure her fury.

While Botan was busy attacking the frightened pair, Kurama dragged Hiei upstairs to his room before the fire demon could do anything. After shutting and locking the door and windows to make sure Hiei wouldn't escape, the curious fox asked, "Okay, what's going on, 'fire baby'!" Kurama asked, teasing him about the nickname.

In response, the fire demon glared at him defiantly and stayed silent, definitely not appreciating the mockery.

"Hiei, you know good and well that I'm going to find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell me now and make it easier for both of us."

Hiei knew that this was true, but if the fox wanted to find out anything, it should be from Botan. Knowing Kurama wouldn't rest until his curiosity was satiated, Hiei said, "Let me talk to her first. There is no telling what that baka onna will do if I say something without her consent."

Both youkai knew Botan was just as capable of violence as Keiko or Shizuru. Kurama nodded understandingly and told him, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

The fox turned and left the room, leaving Hiei there alone. The fire demon considered escaping, but he knew that Kurama and Botan would catch him. When they did, they would both be mad enough to do something crazy.

Moments passed before Kurama reappeared with Botan in tow. The blue-haired girl had just cornered Yusuke and Kuwabara and was ready teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget before Kurama arrived. He had dragged her back, despite her many protests.

After making sure to lock the door once more, Kurama told the pair, "Okay, you two had better tell me what is going on. I'm not an idiot; I know there's more to this whole incident than you two 'being in love'."

Botan glanced at Hiei and asked, "Can we trust him?"

In reply, he simply shrugged, as if to say _'whatever, I don't care.'_ Botan, who had yet to understand the mystery that is Hiei's body language, took this as a yes and began telling Kurama everything that had happened, starting when she first fell in love with Hiei and up to the present.

After the tale, the fox decided to be nice to them and help them with this whole Koenma incident. He knew that Botan had already endured plenty of torture, and Hiei was about to live through his worse nightmare, so he refrained from teasing them about it.

"If you need ever some assistance, please come and ask me. I'm more than willing to help."

Suddenly, Kurama found himself backed into a wall with Hiei's sword at his throat, and Botan standing nearby, baseball bat in her hands. Hiei glared at the cornered fox and growled, "If a single word of this gets out, I will rather enjoy torturing you to death. Is that understood?"

Kurama smiled, thinking that death threats were so typical of Hiei, and promised that he would keep his mouth shut. The fox knew of Hiei's strict honor code about not harming helpless beings and, in particular, teammates, so the fire demon wasn't considered a threat. Botan, on the other hand, may or may not be ruthless enough to do something like that. Kurama seriously doubted it, but then again, females can be unpredictable at times, even for century-old fox reincarnates.

After hearing the fox promise several times that he wouldn't tell anybody, Hiei let him go. Kurama, being the polite kitsune that he is, asked them if they wanted to spend the night since it was already so late. Botan accepted his offer immediately, so Hiei went to sleep in the tree beside the bedroom window...

The next day, Hiei woke up to find himself sleeping on the floor in Kurama's room. Looking beside him, Hiei found Botan cuddling up to him, still fast asleep. The fire demon began to become nervous as to why he couldn't remember moving from the tree to Kurama's room.

"Oh, so you're finally awake."

Hiei looked up to see Kurama standing in front of him, staring down at the pair.

"Why the heck am I in here!"

"Don't you remember? You fell out of the tree and I had to drag you up here!"

Actually, that was only partly true. What had really happened was Kurama only had two places to sleep, either his bed or the floor. After an argument over who would get the bed, Botan agreed to sleep on the floor only if Hiei would too. Kurama was glad to be able to sleep in his own bed, so he 'accidentally' pushed Hiei off the tree and dragged him upstairs. Thankfully, the fire demon didn't wake up during this whole process.

Hiei sat up and shook Botan's shoulders none too gently, trying to wake her up. The former ferry girl opened her eyes slowly and immediately shut them again, still half asleep, and snuggled closer to Hiei while mumbling about how she was in the middle of a nice dream.

"Get up, you baka onna!"

Kurama chuckled as Hiei tried to force Botan to get up. The fire demon shot an angry look at the fox, not appreciating the laughter. Finally deciding to take a different approach, he stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with a glass of water. Hiei poured the water out, spilling it all over Botan and the bedroom floor.

Botan immediately sat up, water dripping off of her, and said, "HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!"

"We need to leave for Reikai, so get up already!"

Kurama left the room momentarily and returned with two towels, one of which he handed to Botan. He used the other to clean up the water from the floor. "You know, Hiei, you didn't have to spill it all over the carpet!"

"Hn," he answered, as if to say _'That's what you get for laughing at me.'_

After Botan finished drying off the best she could, still mumbling about how fire demons shouldn't interrupt people's pleasurable dreams, they told Kurama their goodbyes and left the fox's house to go Reikai...


	4. Koenma’s Deal

Note: Any OOCness on Hiei's part is probably just him acting like he's in love with Botan, not the way he acts naturally.

**Last Chapter...**

_After Botan finished drying off the best she could, still mumbling about how fire demons shouldn't interrupt people's pleasurable dreams, they told Kurama their goodbyes and left the fox's house to go Reikai..._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 4: Koenma's Deal**

After Koenma had left Kurama's house, he went straight to Reikai. He went into his office and ordered everyone to stay away until Botan arrived. Then sat down at his desk and thought over the events of the past few days. What had he done wrong? Why didn't Botan love him back? Is Hiei the guy she loved instead?

Thinking of how Botan had hugged Hiei at Kurama's house, Koenma assumed that Hiei was, in fact, the guy she had rejected him for. Just the thought of Hiei touching HIS Botan made Koenma angry. If Hiei weren't such a powerful fighter, Koenma would be tempted to challenge him to a duel.

Eventually, Koenma fell asleep at his desk. Since he had ordered everyone to leave him alone, nobody came in to move his unconscious form to his bedroom.

The next day, the godling awoke to the sound or someone knocking on his office door. He looked around, wondering why he wasn't in his bedroom, when he suddenly remembered what had happened the night before. A wave of sadness hit him, heartbroken over his lost love.

"Koenma, sir! Botan has arrived, along with Hiei!" an oni announced

Koenma decided to try and forget his pain for now. He ordered them to be sent in and for nobody to disturb them.

Botan and Hiei stepped into his office and stood side by side in front of where Koenma's desk. The god glared at Hiei, the source of his unhappiness, willing the fire demon to just die or at least leave him be. In return, the fire demon gave Koenma a death glare with much more ferocity than the godling's. For several moments this battle of death glares lasted as Botan glanced nervously from Hiei to Koenma, wondering if they were planning to attack each other.

Koenma finally gave up on the staring contest he could not win. "So... Hiei, you're the mystery guy Botan likes so much, ne?"

"I didn't come here to make small talk, godling," Hiei replied. Any hope Koenma had of having a decent conversation disappeared.

"Okay, then what did you come for?" Koenma asked. He wondered vaguely, should Hiei decide to attack, would anyone save him?

"Cancel the wedding."

Koenma shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Hiei, but I can't do that. Botan, I _do_ love you, you know, and it's not like I can just tell my father to call it off. You've no idea the trouble I went through to convince Father to have it arranged on such short notice."

Hiei took a few steps forward, quickly closing the gap between him and Koenma. "Leave me and my future mate alone, or else..." He then pulled out sword and ran his tongue over the blade slowly, smirking evilly. The fire demon hoped to intimidate the godling, and so far it was working.

Although this really, REALLY creeped him out, Koenma refused to let Hiei have the satisfaction of knowing. Looking at Botan for verification, he asked, "Future mate...!"

Botan smiled and nodded happily. She stepped closer to Hiei and put a hand on his shoulder. He immediately resheathed his sword and wrapped an arm around her possessively.

"Hai, Koenma. I love Hiei, and he loves me in return."

Just the sight of Hiei so close to Botan and touching her in such an intimate manner made Koenma's blood boil. Here was this mere youkai, the Forbidden Child of the Koorime no less, with Botan, a former ferry girl and assistant to the Reikai Tantei! Botan deserved much better than this demon; a god, such as himself, would be more suitable for a perfect creature like her. But, unfortunately, Botan controls her own life, and Koenma would never even think of forcing her into something!

It took a few moments for Koenma to gather his wits and fight down the overcoming emotions of jealousy and anger. When he finally composed himself, he sat up straighter in his chair and cleared his throat. "Very well, Botan shall not be my bride."

"And what about my job! I want to be a ferry girl again!"

Koenma knew he could never have Botan as a bride and she deserved to have her job back, but what could he get out of it? After a few moments of careful consideration, he thought of a deal that might just work.

"Fine. I swear that I won't marry Botan, and I will make her a ferry girl once more," Koenma stated. Botan grinned triumphantly, but the smile faded slightly once he continued. "Only under two conditions: one, you will have to prove to me that you truly love each other. I will not stand to have Botan's heart broken by you, Hiei. Second, you have to find me a suitable bride. Since Botan is obviously not going to marry me and my father won't cancel the wedding, I am in need of a fiancé."

Although Koenma would still hurt inside from Botan's rejection, he was willing to make this sacrifice for her sake. Perhaps, if they find a good enough girl, Koenma would be able to move on with his life and love his future fiancé as much as he loved Botan.

Hiei didn't want to have to prove his love nor find Koenma a new bride. Who did the godling think he was, trying to make Hiei do these things! He was ready to argue that he shouldn't have to do such trivial tasks when Botan said, "Fine, we'll accept your offer."

The fire demon's eyes widened and he hissed, "Nani!"

Botan rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! What, do you want him to just do what you want without getting something in return? You of all people should know how that works, Mr. Selfish-Fire-Demon!"

"Hn."

"And hn to you too!"

"Hn."

"Quit saying hn all the time!"

"Hn."

"STOP IT!"

"Hn."

"ARGH!"

"Hn."

"SHUT UP!"

During the time it took for those two to argue, Koenma had made a contract stating their deal and signed his name at the bottom. Handing both the contract and a pen to Botan, she signed it and then handed it to Hiei, who also signed it, albeit reluctantly. Koenma snatched the contract from Hiei before he could destroy it and put it away in one of his desk drawers.

"How long do we have to find a bride for you, Koenma?" Botan asked.

"The wedding will be in approximately a month."

"Okay, and how in the three worlds are we supposed to prove that we love one another!"

The godling thought for a moment before saying, "You two go away while I prepare some tests for you. I'll call for you when everything is ready. In the meantime, please stay in Reikai and NO STEALING. Got that, Hiei?"

"Hn."

"Come on, Hiei, let's go," Botan said as she led him out of Koenma's office.


	5. Dead Stuffed Bear?

**Last Chapter...**

_"Come on, Hiei, let's go," Botan said as she led him out of Koenma's office._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 5: Dead Stuffed Bear?**

Hiei followed Botan past the mass of Reikai workers and into a hallway, then into another room labeled "Ferry Girl Lounge". Inside, it had a television, several chairs and couches, a small coffee table, and a few vending machines. On the walls were several paintings of King Yama, and a few colorful tapestries. On the floor was a rug with the Reikai emblem on it.

Botan walked up to one of the tapestries and lifted it, revealing a door. Using a key, Botan unlocked it. She explained, "The ferry girl lounge is for any ferry girl to use, but only the best ferry girls are allowed into the SECRET ferry girl lounge."

Hiei thought momentarily about how King Yama really needed to come up with better names for all the rooms in his palace. Secret ferry girl lounge... What kind of idiotic name is that?

Beyond the hidden door was a much fancier room than the ferry girl lounge. It had leather couches and chairs, a big screen TV, fancy paintings on the wall, Persian rugs on the floor, several tables, four computers sitting on different desks, and a fridge containing things one might find in a hotel room.

Once they both entered, Botan locked the door behind them, making sure nobody would be able to come in and interrupt them. Then she turned to Hiei and said, "Oh my gosh, you were sooooo great back there! You had me half convinced you loved me! Future mate! How do you come up with this stuff?"

Although she knew that Hiei didn't really care about her, she couldn't help but hope it may become true someday. Of course, this was utterly impossible, but a girl can dream, can't she?

"I'm a good liar," Hiei replied arrogantly. "And don't think that I'm doing any of this for you. I could care less about _you_."

Ignoring the hurtful statement, Botan exclaimed, "Thank you, Hiei! I know you're only supposed to pretend to love me, but would you please take whatever test Koenma has in mind and help me find him a girlfriend too?"

Hiei sighed, tired of this whole moronic idea already. "I already told you that I would help you, baka."

The blue-haired girl hugged Hiei tightly, even knowing he disliked it, and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've been sooo nice to me!"

"Hn," Hiei told her as he pushed her away, as if saying _'You're not welcome'_. "Hug me again, and I'll leave."

"Aw, but you're such a cuddly fire demon! Like... a teddy bear!"

"...Teddy... bear!" Hiei got the mental picture of Botan hugging a 'cuddly' Kodiak bear named Teddy, and it was an extremely bizarre thing to imagine. Who in their right mind would want to hug a BEAR? Certainly not Hiei.

"You know, those stuffed bears ningen children play with?"

"..."

Stuffed bear? Like a dead bear that has stuffing put inside of it? This was sounding weirder and weirder to Hiei. What kind of ningen gives their children a dead bear for a toy? Hiei knew that ningens did strange things, but this was... disturbing.

Assuming correctly that Hiei had absolutely no clue what she was talking about, Botan said, "I'll have to show you sometime! Teddy bears are so cute and cuddly and huggable - like you, Hiei!"

Hiei briefly wondered how he, a powerful fire youkai, could be compared with the cuddly cuteness of a dead stuffed bear, but quickly dismissed the whole idea. Some of the things ningens do were better left ignored, for the sake of one's sanity.

Sensing that he was still confused, Botan decided to change the subject. "Well, while we're waiting, we might as well think of girls who might be able to date Koenma."

"Who cares? Let that godling find his own wife."

"Hiei! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can leave!"

The fire demon knew this was perfectly logical, and grudgingly decided to contribute. "...What about that girl - the one who hits Yusuke..."

"You mean KEIKO!" Botan shrieked.

"Hai," replied Hiei calmly.

"To date KOENMA!"

Not understanding what was wrong, he simply agreed, "Hai."

Botan glared at Hiei as if he were an idiot. "NO, YOU BAKA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST CENTURY!"

"Nani?" he asked, surprised at her outburst.

"Yusuke and Keiko are in love! Didn't you know that?"

"They're... in love...?"

"NO DUH, DIMWIT!" Botan exclaimed.

"They argue all the time, and Keiko beats him mercilessly... That is what ningens call love?" Hiei raised an eyebrow. Wow, first he discovers mankind's strange fetish for dead bears, and now their masochistic ways of love. This converstaion was becoming quite educational.

Botan sighed, frustrated with just how dense Hiei could be with the whole concept of love. "You just don't understand what love is..."

"Hn?"

"...But no matter!" Botan stood with her hands on her hips, feet wide apart. All of a sudden, she was standing on a very tall rock with ocean waves crashing behind her. "I'll teach you what love is, Hiei, no matter how hopeless you may be! You need some TLC in your life, and I'm going to be the first to provide it! I swear to kami-sama, cross my heart, and hope to die that I'll teach you if it's the last thing I do!"

Hiei gaped at her strangely. He didn't like the thought of someone declaring that they would teach him the meaning of love. It was not something Hiei wanted to learn about; not now, not ever.

Before he had a chance to retort, though, they heard Koenma's magnified voice say, "Botan and Hiei, please report to my office. I repeat, Botan and Hiei, please report to my office. That is all."

Without another word, Hiei followed Botan out of the two ferry girl lounges and into the hallway. They continued walking until they reached Koenma's office, and Botan knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" they heard Koenma say.

They both entered his office, ready to face whatever trials Koenma had for them. Botan silently hoped that Hiei would be able to pull it off. Sure, he might be a good actor, but how would he fare when trying to prove his fictional love for someone he hardly liked? Botan glanced at Hiei briefly, noting his unemotional expression, and silently pleaded that he wouldn't do anything stupid.


	6. The First Two Tests

**Last Chapter...**

_They both entered his office, ready to face whatever trials Koenma had for them. Botan silently hoped that Hiei would be able to pull it off. Sure, he might be a good actor, but how would he fare when trying to prove his fictional love for someone he hardly liked? Botan glanced at Hiei briefly, noting his unemotional expression, and silently pleaded that he wouldn't do anything stupid._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 6: The First Two Tests**

In Koenma's office two chairs had been placed in front of his desk, and he motioned for Hiei and Botan to sit down. Hiei glanced at his chair critically; it was a plain, wooden thing that looked like the handiwork of baby ningen armed with a pocketknife. Nevertheless, the fire demon sat down, hoping splinters couldn't breach his cloak, but not before noticing Botan's beautiful mahogany chair with velvety cushions.

Once Koenma was sure Botan was settled, not caring much about Hiei's well being, he began, "I have set up a series of tests that will allow me to assess your love for one another. The first test is this." He held up two identical papers. "You are to each answer these questions about yourselves. The result from this will tell me who you love the most."

After receiving a paper and pen from Koenma, Hiei looked at the questions. There were fifty in all, and they were all personal questions ranging from 'What's your favorite color?' to 'What's your biggest secret?' Hiei really did not want to do this, but he noticed Koenma watching him carefully, just waiting for Hiei to do something drastic and give their act away. So the reluctant fire demon spent the next half hour answering the questions, while mentally cursing in every language he knew.

Once they were done, an ogre came to take up their papers and immediately left the room. A different ogre returned moments later with a copy of their answers and handed that to Koenma.

"While we wait for the results, I am going to ask you some questions to see how well you know each other. They will be the same questions you just answered."

Botan wasn't at all prepared for this, and she highly doubted that Hiei was. She hoped that they could pull through, but it wasn't looking very good. Hiei didn't care enough about Botan to know anything about her, and the fire demon was so secretive that she didn't know much about him.

Koenma glanced at the pair, Botan looking worried and Hiei expressionless, and said, "The first question is for Botan: What is Hiei's favorite hobby?"

"Uh..." Botan had to think about this one. What was Hiei's favorite hobby? Did he even have a hobby? Botan could only guess. "Fighting and... killing... stuff?"

"Close enough." Hiei's actual answer was 'cause chaos and destruction throughout the three worlds to all who oppose me, and cause certain godlings to choke on their pacifiers while asleep.'

"Next question. Hiei: What is Botan's greatest fear?"

"Me," he answered easily. If Koenma hadn't been watching him so closely, Hiei would have smirked. This was way too easy. He knew that both Koenma and Botan had doubts, but they were underestimated him. Hiei could effortlessly answer these trivial questions with the aide of his ever-so-helpful Jagan.

Koenma nodded to indicate Hiei was correct. He had hoped that Hiei mess up horribly, but no such luck. Oh well, that was just one question. There were harder questions ahead. The next one, Koenma promised himself, Hiei would not be so lucky.

Meanwhile, Botan let out a sigh of relief, glad that Hiei had been correct. His answer was perfectly true - Hiei _was_ Botan's greatest fear. She could easily be killed if he ever decided he was fed up with her. But that didn't keep her from loving Hiei. The fear just made it all the more exciting!

Moving on, Koenma turned to Botan and asked, "Who is Hiei's best friend?"

Oh dear, Hiei's best friend... Did he even have _friends_? If he had to call someone his best friend, it would probably be one of the Reikai Tantei, but which one? Definitely not Kuwabara. Probably not Yusuke. So that left...

"Uh, Kurama...?" she answered, unsure of herself. For all she knew, Hiei's best friend could be a pet rock!

The demigod glanced over at Hiei and asked him, "Hiei? You put 'baka kitsune' for your answer. I assume this means Kurama, ne?"

Hiei glared at Koenma, as if he were nothing more than a half-witted flea. "Of course it does, you moron. How many other baka kitsunes are there!"

Deciding to ignore the rude remark, Koenma continued with the questions. Hopefully, Hiei would get this next one wrong. "Hiei: What kitchen appliance is Botan most like and why?"

"A coffee maker because she likes coffee," Hiei answered.

"Correct," the god said irritably.

The questions continued for the next half hour or so. When they were finished, Hiei had gotten every single question correct, much to Koenma's dismay, and Botan had only gotten 23 questions out of 50 correct.

Koenma was sure that Hiei cheated, but he wasn't sure how. He thought of all of Hiei's demonic abilities when he finally remembered the Jagan. How stupid of him! Of course Hiei would use his Jagan on this! Well, since Koenma hadn't stated any rules beforehand, it couldn't be considered cheating. The next test he would most certainly get him...

The result surprised Botan. She hadn't expected Hiei to do so well when answering questions about her! Not even considering his Jagan, she assumed that he was just smarter than most people gave him credit for. She would have to ask him about it later...

Arriving just in time, an ogre came into Koenma's office and handed him a sheet of paper. Koenma read what was on it, and then reread it to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After looking at it several times, he cleared his throat and announced, "The results from your first test are in. Botan does indeed love Hiei, but Hiei loves... Yukina...?"

Hiei allowed himself a small smirk. Of course the result would be that he loved his sister. He had answered most of those questions somewhat truthfully, and the truth was that Hiei didn't even like Botan and loved his sister - platonically, of course. Hiei loved nobody romantically.

Eyebrows raised, Botan frowned slightly. The outcome to the first test was... strange. It wasn't that she had expected it to say Hiei loved her, but she wasn't exactly expecting it to be his sister either... Sounds like she was going to have some competition for Hiei's love!

"Your next test will be-" Koenma began. Suddenly all of the lights in Koenma's office went out, leaving them in complete darkness. Botan felt a hand clamp down on her mouth and an arm wrap around her neck. Her screams thoroughly muffled, Botan struggled to get away, but she was helpless against her captor. She did manage to bite her captor's hand, though, but it didn't do any good - by the time the lights came back on, Botan had been kidnapped.

Hiei figured this was probably his next test, so he didn't make a move to stop her from being dragged away, even though he could see it all very clearly in the darkness thanks to his excellent eyesight. This was going to be boring. He probably wouldn't even get to kill anyone!

He waited for Koenma to begin explaining, and sure enough, the god said, "Your next test is to rescue Botan."


	7. Crazy Demons

**Last Chapter...**

****

_He waited for Koenma to begin explaining, and sure enough, the god said, "Your next test is to rescue Botan."_

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 7: Crazy Demons**

Botan woke up to the sound of voices. She tried to recall what had happened, but the most recent memory she could find was being in Koenma's office. Sitting up, she found herself on a bed inside a small room. Outside the closed door, there were the voices.

"Is she awake yet?"

"You shouldn't have hit her on the head."

"The poor girl... You could've just asked her politely like a civilized person."

"She wouldn't shut up! Besides, she kept trying to bite me. Look at this, teeth marks!"

"You're going to have to moisturize that skin or else it will be permanently damaged."

"GAH! Really!"

"Haha! That's what you get for volunteering!"

"He didn't volunteer; you forced him to come with you."

"Oh... It's still funny, though."

"No it's not! MY SKIN IS TOTALLY RUINED!"

"Here, take this lotion! You better use it before you have a permanent scar! It's the Beautiful Suzuka's Special Homemade Lotion With a New and Improved Secret Formula!"

"You two are idiots. Vain, conceited idiots."

"You're just jealous because you're not beautiful!"

"If I looked like you two bakas, I'd kill myself."

"You're too kind!"

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"ACK! HELP! The teeth marks are turning red!"

"Oh, look, the ferry girl's awake," said someone as he opened the door.

Botan watched Touya, Jin 1, Shishiwakamaru, and Suzuka walk into the room and stand at the foot of the bed. They stared at her, as if waiting for her to say something.

"Uh... where am I? What happened?" she asked, looking at the strange demons. She was relieved to see some familiar faces in this strange situation.

"You're in Ningenkai," Suzuka answered. "In a ningen hotel."

"We kidnapped you!" Jin added, as if it were to most normal thing in the world.

"Only because Koenma asked us to!" Suzuka quickly said, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

"Just so you know, I didn't want to do this," Touya stated. He was in a bad mood, having been stuck with crazy demons for so long.

"Suzuka! Why is my skin turning blue! Did you tamper with this stupid lotion stuff of yours!" Shishiwakamaru asked. He was busy applying the lotion to the teeth marks on his arm.

"Oh, kami! Let me see that!" Suzuka exclaimed as he rushed over to teach Shishi the art of taking care of teeth marks.

Botan decided to ignore them and asked, "Why am I in Ningenkai? And, more importantly, why are all of you in Ningenkai with me!"

Touya couldn't answer her since he was in the middle of telling Suzuka and Shishi that they should be worried about fighting techniques, not beauty techniques. Jin, however, was happy to answer her questions.

"Well, you're in Ningenkai because that's where we decided to keep you! We're not allowed here usually, but Koenma let us this time since we're helping him by kidnapping you!"

"Kidnapping me?"

"Yeah! He told us to kidnap you from Reikai so Hiei could come rescue you! Dunno why Hiei has to come though. Shouldn't it be Urameshi?" Jin asked amicably.

"Oh..." Botan understood now. This was the third test. All she would have to do is wait for that fire demon to come get her. That was simple enough - she shouldn't have to wait too long since Hiei could use his Jagan to find her. "So, what exactly happened?"

Jin patiently explained everything. Koenma had contacted Jin, Touya, Shishi, Suzuka, Rinku, and Chuu and asked them to 'kidnap' Botan so Hiei could come and rescue her as part of a new training program. In return, they would be allowed to have fun in Ningenkai for a whole week before they had to go back to the demon world. Jin and Shishiwakamaru were the ones who went to take Botan from Reikai. On the trip back, they had a few difficulties and, to make a long story short, Shishiwakamaru got mad when Botan wouldn't stop biting him, hit her on the head and forced her into unconsciousness which would explain why she couldn't remember anything and had a painful headache.

"Thanks, Jin," Botan told. That certainly cleared a few things up.

"You're welcome!" Jin said. Then he turned to where Touya, Shishi, and Suzuka were currently in an argument. "Oi, Touya! Where are Rinku and Chuu? I haven't seen them around lately!"

"While you and Shishi were gone, Chuu dragged Rinku off to some ningen bar. I haven't seen them since," Touya explained. "I have a feeling Chuu introduced Rinku to ningen alcohol... Poor kid..."

Jin, Botan, and Touya sweat-dropped, thinking that it was so typical of Chuu. Then, Botan turned her attention to Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru, who were now fussing over the teeth marks on Shishi's arms.

"You idiot! You're supposed to clean your skin off first, and then put on the lotion! You're going to damage your skin, and eventually cause wrinkles!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that? Your homemade junk doesn't exactly come with directions, you stupid clown!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!"

"A CLOWN! What, are you a deaf clown now!"

"I do not look like a clown! I LOOK BEAUTIFUL! Say anything else and you are _so_ dead. AND YOUR SHIRT IS UGLY! THE BLUE CLASHES WITH YOUR HAIR!"

"NANI!"

Botan was mildly amused at their strange behavior. She muttered, "Are they _always_ like this?"

Touya and Jin both nodded. Botan suddenly pitied the poor demons that had to put up with their extreme vanity. " Sheesh, do I feel sorry for you..."

"Eh, you get used to it after a while," Jin replied nonchalantly.

"I'm sure you do..." she said doubtfully. "So what are we supposed to do? Just wait here for Hiei?"

Touya shrugged. "Koenma just said to keep you with us in Ningenkai."

Suddenly, Jin got a great idea. He smiled broadly and started flying around the room.

"Hey Touya! Let's go somewhere while we're still in Ningenkai!" he called from midair.

"I don't want to go anywhere in public with you! You're going to go crazy again!" he answered, annoyed at the hyper demon. This was certainly not a good day for the poor ice master. He hadn't even wanted to come along to Ningenkai in the first place, but the others had pressured him into it. Now he was stuck practically babysitting them and making sure nothing was destroyed.

"Aw, Touya, you don't mean that! Where do you wanna go?"

"Nowhere!"

"You gotta want to go _somewhere_! Don't be such a homebody!"

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

Botan giggled in amusement as Jin flew over to Touya and picked him up off the ground by the arms. Then he began flying around, dragging Touya along for the ride.

"LET ME GO, YOU CRAZY WIND MASTER!" screamed Touya.

"Not until you promise to go somewhere and have some fun! You need to have a little excitement in your life. All you do is read books and talk about boring junk."

"NOOOO! I don't want to go anywhere, so put me down already! ACK, WATCH OUT FOR THE WALL!"

Jin swerved just in time to avoid the wall. Touya cursed in several languages and glared at the wind master. Seeing the Ice Master's scowl, Botan could guess that Touya wasn't in the best of moods.

"Say you'll go!"

"NO! Let go of me!"

"Not until you promise."

"Argh... Fine I'll go, you idiotic-"

"Ha! I knew you wanted to!" Jin shouted triumphantly.

Botan watched with a small smile on her face. All of this insanity was a nice change from being around a moody fire demon and lovesick godling for so long. She glanced over at Shishi and Suzuka, who were now in a heated argument over beauty products. This was going to be an interesting experience.

The wind master landed expertly on the ground and released his friend, who started grumbling about crazy wind masters who needed to grow up. Jin grinned widely at Botan and asked, "So how about it Botan? Wanna go to a mall?"

Touya glared at him. "No malls!"

"Too bad! You're coming whether you like it or not!" retorted the demon. Then, turning to her, he asked, "You want to Botan? Or am I going to have to fly you around too?"

Botan hastily said, "Uh, no thanks. I'll go!"

"Knew you'd want to!" Jin's pointy ears started wiggling, just like they always did when he got excited, and he took off flying again. "WOOOOOO! WE'RE GOING TO A MALL! YIPEEEEEEE!"

Botan said to Touya, "He's very energetic... and hyper..."

Touya nodded glumly in agreement, feeling sorry for himself and for Botan. "This is why he's never allowed in Ningenkai. The last time we were here, he went on a rampage through Toys R Us because they wouldn't let him ride one of the toy cars on display."

Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru had heard Jin's announcement. "A mall, you say?"

"Oh, I've always wanted to go to a ningen mall!" declared Suzuka.

Touya eventually convinced Jin to stop flying around, and the five of them set out to go the mall. Botan figured Hiei would be able to find her there, and since she had to wait for him, she might as well be having fun!

* * *

1 I know Jin is supposed to have an accent, but technically all of these people are supposed to be speaking in Japanese so Jin shouldn't have an accent. Plus, I have no idea how to write an accent... ;


	8. Smart Shizuru

To answer a question from **Wendi**: It's a surprise! You're going to have to wait for more chapters to find out! Yes I know, I'm so evil! MWAHA! ...Okay, okay, actually I haven't decided yet... But I will soon, I promise! JSYK, I do believe that stories should have at least a semi-happy ending, so don't worry about Ningenkai being blown up and Botan or Hiei dying or something angsty like that - that's just not my style.

**Last Chapter...**

****

_Touya eventually convinced Jin to stop flying around, and the five of them set out to go the mall. Botan figured Hiei would be able to find her there, and since she had to wait for him, she might as well be having fun!_

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 8: Smart Shizuru**

After seeing Botan and Hiei off, Kurama had been busy all morning doing his chores. Thankfully, it was a Saturday, so he didn't have to go to school. He just got back from picking up the groceries for his mother, and now it was time to do his homework. Unlike most teens his age, Kurama didn't prefer to leave things until the very last minute.

The fox had just sat down at his desk and opened his math book to the correct page when he heard a knock on his bedroom window. He glanced up and saw that it was Hiei. He quickly opened it to let him inside.

"Hello, Hiei. What are you doing here?" the fox asked, though he already had a few guesses.

Hiei made himself comfortable on the windowsill, his usual sitting place, and said, "I can't find Botan."

"Nani?" the fox asked as he sat back down at his desk.

The fire demon sighed. How else could he tell the fox such a simple thing? "I need to find that baka onna."

"Tell me what happened with Koenma first, Hiei." The fox was curious. He had been wondering what happened to those two, and this was his chance to find out.

In order to avoid wasting more time, Hiei told him everything, starting with the deal he had made with the godling and ending with the third test: he had to rescue Botan from the demons Koenma had hired, but the hard part was that he couldn't use his Jagan. If he did, an alarm would go off in Reikai, and he would fail the test.

Kurama listened silently, and when Hiei was through with his tale, he asked, "Did Koenma tell you anything about where Botan was?"

"Only that she's in Japan in Ningenkai and that her captors are Jin, Touya, Shishiwakamaru, Suzuka, Chuu, and Rinku."

"How on Earth does he expect you to find her? She could be anywhere!" Kurama exclaimed.

With a grimace, Hiei replied darkly, "He said that if we're soul mates, our bond should be strong enough that I'll know exactly where she is..."

"Ah, of course, that ALWAYS works," Kurama retorted sarcastically. Koenma could be very naive at times.

Before another word could be said, someone burst into Kurama's room. Perfectly calm, Hiei and Kurama turned simultaneously and stared at Keiko, who was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a fierce glare on her face.

The girl yelled, "WHERE THE HECK IS BOTAN! I KNOW YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS, KURAMA, DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!

"Did my mother let you in here? I told her to kick crazy people out, but I guess she didn't listen..." Kurama didn't show any evidence that he was surprised at her entrance.

"What in the world did you do to her, Hiei!" Keiko asked after noticing Hiei sitting on the windowsill. She was very worried about her friend. After Botan had chased the two boys away last night, Yusuke and Kuwabara had told the girls what happened. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, so they decided to go to Kurama's in the morning, assuming correctly that he knew more than they did.

Hiei raised an eyebrow, wondering why this ningen thought he had done something to Botan. "I didn't do anything to her."

Keiko angrily stepped towards him and hissed, "I know you did something to her! Nobody in their right mind would 'fall in love' with you! Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot!"

Kurama chuckled, amused at the irony of the situation, and Hiei glared at him. "Shut up, fox."

This only made Kurama laugh harder. "Gomen, Hiei, but this is quite the amusing predicament you've gotten yourself into."

Suddenly, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Shizuru, and Yukina came into the room, one after the other. They had trailed a furious Keiko all the way here, and they had only just caught up to her.

"Kami, Keiko, you run too fast!" Yusuke said.

However, Keiko ignored him and told them, "Kurama and Hiei were just about to explain themselves..."

Hiei almost escaped through the open window, but Kurama shot him a look that made him stay. "Oh no, Hiei, I'm not solving your problems for you! Tell them what happened!"

"Hn, fine. I have to find Botan because Koenma was being an idiot and let her be kidnapped," Hiei said glibly.

The others just gaped at Hiei cluelessly. What the heck was he talking about? Botan had already been found yesterday!

Issuing a low growl, Keiko threw herself at Hiei and grabbed his cloak roughly. The fire demon was startled and would have fallen out of the open window if Keiko hadn't such a firm hold on him. "Tell us what happened! What did you do to Botan to make her fall in love with you! You stupid jerk! You hypnotized her, or seduced her, or... or something! You're blackmailing her, aren't you? TELL ME!" With each word, the angry girl shook the demon by the cloak.

Kurama watched from his desk, trying to not laugh at poor Hiei. The others took a few steps back, not wanting to be caught in Keiko's wrath. Hiei was very calm, considering the situation; all Keiko had to do was let go of him, and he would fall out the window.

The fire demon replied cryptically. "I did nothing to her. If anything, she 'seduced' me."

Everyone but Kurama became confused at this statement. Of all the beings and fangirls in the three worlds, Botan was the first to 'seduce' him? That was ridiculous!

Kurama interrupted the lovely scene before Keiko became too violent and made Hiei do something he would regret later. "Perhaps you should listen to Hiei's side of the story before throwing him out of the window. Please, Hiei, do tell all. We would love to hear a nice story from you!" he said, both helping and teasing Hiei.

Yusuke cautiously made his way towards Keiko, and pulled her away from Hiei to calm her down. He hated it when she got angry because he always ended up getting slapped in the end, even if she wasn't mad at him. Hiei finally stepped away from the open window and closed it, not wanting to tempt another person to throw him outside.

Yusuke eventually succeeded in calming Keiko down, only after she had slapped him, while Kuwabara and Shizuru started asking questions. Yukina stayed silent and simply witnessed everything.

"How did you two fall in love?"

"Where was she when she went missing?"

"What was going on between her and Koenma?"

"What did you mean when you said she was kidnapped?"

Hiei sighed wearily and glanced over at Kurama, who was watching with an amused look on his face. He wasn't going to be any help, so Hiei would just have to lie.

"Just shut up already! I'll tell you everything!" Hiei said to them. Then, he told them his version of what was going on.

"The night Botan went missing, I found her at a park. She was extremely upset and I coaxed her into telling me what happened to her. I discovered that she had told Koenma that she was in love with me. The godling became mad at her and fired her from her job as a ferry girl, so she escaped to Ningenkai.

"All my life, I have had nobody who truly loved me the way she does. While we were walking here, I searched my soul and found that I loved her as well. I told her as much, and she became her usual cheerful self once more. Then we arrived here, and you already know what happened then.

"After Yusuke and Kuwabara left, we told Kurama what had happened and spent the night here. In the morning, we journeyed to Spirit World to try and get Botan's job back. When we arrived, Koenma told us that he was envious of me and would do anything in his power to steal Botan away. We tried to work out a deal with him, only to discover that he had set up a trap. Botan was kidnapped, and my Jagan was stripped of its power. Now, the only clues I have to Botan's whereabouts is that she is in Ningenkai. I have to find her before Koenma does the unthinkable."

That was the stupidest story Hiei had ever told. Searched his soul and found that he loved her? HA! Like that would ever happen! Hiei loved his sister, and only his sister. Never would there be room for another in his heart.

Kurama watched to see if the others believed Hiei's story. Kuwabara and Yusuke seemed convinced, Shizuru looked doubtful, Keiko looked angry, and Yukina looked like... well, Yukina. Though Yukina looked like nothing more than an innocent child, you could never tell what wisdom was hidden behind her naïve exterior. It was difficult to guess how much she knew about what was going on around her. After all, on the day Hiei decided to finally tell her the truth about her brother's identity, he discovered that she had known all along and was simply waiting for him to say something about it 1.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" asked Keiko doubtfully.

"What would I gain from lying?"

"I still can't believe she's in love with YOU!"

Hiei shrugged. "She's one demented onna..."

Surprisingly, that statement was enough to quell her doubts. Before anything more could be said, Keiko was already halfway out the door, on her way to look for Botan. Yusuke and Kuwabara weren't far behind.

Not quite sure whether or not she should leave, Yukina glanced at her brother, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. So, not needed there, she decided to leave, knowing Kurama would be there if Hiei needed help.

Now only Kurama, Hiei, and Shizuru remained. The demons waited for the ningen girl to leave, but she didn't.

Most of those who know her younger brother assume that Shizuru is just like Kuwabara. They don't realize that she has more beauty, intelligence, fighting ability, and spirit awareness than her brother does. Maybe it's because she's a girl or because she doesn't show it off, but either way, nobody seems to realize her full potential. She knew there must be more to Hiei's story, and, for Botan's sake, she wanted to know what it was.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had told the girls what had happened when Hiei and Botan arrived Kurama's house the previous night, so Shizuru already understood the gist of what went on. There were some things missing in Hiei's story. Hiei had told Koenma to 'call it off'. Call what off? Plus, Shizuru had a hard time believing that within only a few hours Hiei had fallen in love with Botan. Everyone knew that Hiei would be the last being to ever admit his romantic love for a girl.

Kurama and Hiei stared at Shizuru, willing her to just leave already. She glared at them and said, "Okay, you can quit lying to me! I'm not as stupid as my baby brother and I know there's something that you're not telling, Hiei! And you know what's going too, don't you, Kurama?"

Glancing at Hiei, Kurama figured there was no use lying anymore and said, "She seems to have called our bluff. You should tell her before she tells everyone else you're lying."

"Why should I?" Hiei asked gruffly.

"Have a little faith and trust her to keep it a secret."

"Hn."

"Oh alright, I'll tell her then!" Kurama said. He knew Hiei wouldn't really mind, so he gave Shizuru a full explanation of the recent events.

Shizuru listened intently, checking to see if this story matched up with the everything else. When she was satisfied that it did, she promised Hiei to stay silent about it.

Shizuru pitied Koenma, Botan and Hiei - all three had been placed in this situation unwillingly. However, there wasn't much she could do right now except help Hiei complete his test, so she asked, "Should we start looking for Botan?"

"It's better than sitting around doing nothing, I suppose. Shall we, Hiei?" Kurama turned to the shorter demon.

With a shrug, he replied, "Hn."

"All right then, let's go."

So the trio set out together, looking for the missing ferry girl or any of her captors.

* * *

1 Everyone (including Kuwabara) knows that Hiei's her brother in this story. This is for plot reasons, as will be discovered in later chapters.


	9. Crazy Demons at the Mall

In response to **Water Guardian: **Although I haven't seen the whole series, I've read in a lot of fics that Hiei killed Shigure in that tournament thing to be Mukuro's heir, and that meant he didn't have to keep his promise anymore. I think the reason he's been keeping it a secret is a matter of his insecure feelings, rather than the promise to Shigure. Actually, I would have written that someone told Yukina but then that person would be dead, thanks to Hiei, and that wouldn't be any fun! JSYK Yukina has to know the truth because that plays a part in the plot later on. You'll understand... eventually...

**Last Chapter...**

****

So the trio set out together, looking for the missing ferry girl or any of her captors.

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 9: Crazy Demons at the Mall**

As Botan and her youkai companions were walking to the mall, the four demons tried to look as inconspicuous as possible and hide their demonic features. This was especially hard for Jin, with his pointy ears, horn, and love of flying. They had managed to make it about halfway to the nearest mall without anyone calling the ningen police when they ran into two familiar faces.

"Chuu, you big idiot, why'd you have to go and do that!"

"What! Like you didn't feel sorry for the poor girl too!"

"Oi, Chuu! Rinku!" Jin called. Hearing their names, the two demons turned and started walking towards them.

"Hey, Jin!" Chuu greeted.

"Where were you two?"

Rinku glared at Chuu and answered, "He tried to drag me into a bar but they said I was too young to enter, so we went to a restaurant instead. Then some guy yelled at the waitress and Chuu beat him up. We got kicked out of the place!"

Touya reprimanded, "You baka! We're not supposed to draw attention to ourselves here!"

Chuu shrugged. "Couldn't help it! The poor gal was being fussed at for no good reason. I can't stand to see a damsel in distress!" Then he spotted Botan for the first time and said, "Oi, who's the pretty gal!"

Touya answered, "That is Botan, the girl you were supposed to retrieve from Reikai. Remember?"

"Ah, so you're the ferry girl!" Chuu grinned at her. "Pretty one too."

Botan wasn't sure whether to be appalled or embarrassed, but Rinku made the decision for her by hitting Chuu on the head. Everyone else sweat-dropped.

"Don't scare her off, stupid! We're supposed to keep her until Hiei comes for her!" Rinku reminded him, rolling his eyes.

"Hiei? What, is he like her boyfriend or something?" Chuu asked, but nobody answered him so he assumed that he was correct.

"What are all of you doing out here? I thought you were going to stay at the hotel!" Rinku asked.

The Ice Master muttered, "Stupid wind master forced us to go to the mall."

"Aw, come on, Touya, don't gimme that again!" Jin pouted, receiving a glare in return.

They all began walking again towards the mall as their discussion continued. Botan glanced at the six demons, thinking them to be odd, yet amusing. In fact, they reminded her of the Urameshi group.

Interrupting her thoughts, Chuu peered at Botan and said, "Hey, when's your boyfriend gonna get here?"

"Boyfriend? Hiei's not her boyfriend!" objected Jin.

"Yeah, if you had listened, you would have known!" Suzuka said.

Chuu looked at Botan suspiciously. "You sure you don't have a boyfriend? Tell you what, I bet one of us would love to hook up with you! Right, guys?"

Touya frowned. "Speak for yourself, baka."

"Sure!" Jin said as he grinned. He was feeling so cheerful that he was willing to go along with just about anything!

Shishi eyed Jin's ears, which were rapidly turning long and pointy. "Jin, your ears are doing strange things again!"

Meanwhile, as Jin frowned and examined the offending appendages, Rinku glared at Chuu. "You idiot! If she wanted a boyfriend, then she'd say so!"

"Do you want a boyfriend?" Suzuka asked Botan curiously.

"Uh..." Botan wasn't sure what to say. Sure she wanted a boyfriend, but only if it was Hiei! "Well, I kind of already have a boyfriend... sort of... maybe... well, he's not really my boyfriend, but he sort of is... I think..."

After a short silence, Rinku declared, "I'm confused!"

"Are you single or not?" Chuu asked simply.

"Yes, and no," she answered.

"Oro? Oro, oro, oro? Heheh, that's a fun word to say!" Jin was having fun playing with words. Oh dear, he's become hyper...

Suzuka sighed and said, "SHUT UP JIN!"

"Oro, oro! ORO!"

"It's complicated..." Botan tried to explain.

"Who is he?" Shishi wondered nosily.

"Hiei."

Chuu grinned triumphantly. "HA! Told you so!"

"Does he like you?" Jin asked. "Do you like him? Have you gone on a date? Have you kissed him yet? Is he nice to you? If he's not, you got six demons here who'll beat him for you!"

"Um..." Botan didn't really want to answer all of these questions. Thankfully, Touya saved her from the trouble by slapping Jin.

"Baka! You need to mind your own business!"

Jin merely grinned knowingly at the Ice Master. "Are you having mood swings again...? If it's PMS, I swear I won't tell anybody!"

"No..." Touya glared icily at Jin and answered, "You are a baka. A complete baka."

The others laughed, used to all of the quarrelling. Botan began to feel at ease with these guys. They were so easy to get along with compared to Hiei!

"Hey, guys! We're here!" announced Rinku.

Finally, they had arrived at the mall. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, it was crowded with people. Shishiwakamaru and Suzuka immediately took off to the nearest beauty salon, trying to find a cure for the teeth marks on Shishi's arms. Botan watched as Chuu spotted a pretty woman and went off, eventually following her into a women's department store.

"Hey, pretty gal, come back!" Chuu called, making Botan sweat-drop.

Jin looked around for something to do and spotted a nearby pet store. "Oi, Touya, let's get a pet!"

"NO, JIN!" The last thing Touya needed was a pet to look after.

Rinku's eyes became very big and sparkly. "Ooooh, I've always wanted a puppy dog! Heeheehee!"

"Parrot! We're gonna get a parrot! Then I'll be a pirate wind master! Arr, matey, I'll be a pirate, a pirate I'll be! Ha ha!" Jin checked his pockets for money, but found that he was broke. He turned to Touya and, pretending to be a pirate, said, "Gimme yer money or I'll make ye walk the plank! Arr!"

Reluctantly, Touya gave Jin some ningen money, lest he be forced to 'walk the plank'. Then Rinku and Jin ran off to find a pet for themselves. This left Touya with only Botan's company, something he was glad for - watching over crazy demons all the time became very tiring after a while.

"So, are you hungry?" Touya asked. They _had_ kidnapped her, so he might as well feed the girl.

"Uh, sure." Botan quickly scanned the crowds of ningens around her, looking for Hiei, but there was no sign of that familiar fire demon. She desperately hoped he would arrive soon.

They walked to the food court and ordered some fast food. After their order was ready, they found an empty table and sat down. They ate in silence, and once they were done, Touya asked, "Do you know when Hiei will get here?"

"No idea. He should be here by now, shouldn't he? He has the Jagan so it should be really easy to find me... Unless... You don't think something happened to him, do you? What if he was attacked?" The thought made Botan panic. "Maybe he's hurt! He could be out there dying right now while we're just sitting here! We've got to go save him!"

"Calm down! From what I've seen, he's an extremely talented fighter. I doubt that he's acquired any fatal injuries recently," Touya reassured her. He didn't want Botan to start worrying for no good reason, so he changed the subject. "How exactly did you end up being part of this new training program of Koenma's?"

"Uh..." Botan wasn't sure how to answer that. Should she lie, or tell the truth? It would be so much easier if Hiei were here! He was a much better liar than Botan could ever be. "Um, this isn't really part of Hiei's training... You see, Koenma's making us take these tests and we've already passed the first two, and now we have to pass this third one. If we don't pass them and find Koenma a girlfriend, I'll end up being the Princess of Reikai, and I'll never get to be a ferry girl again!"

Touya shot her a confused look. "I'm kind of lost here. Perhaps you should start from the beginning."

"Okay..." Botan hoped that she was doing the right thing by telling him. Touya didn't really know Koenma or Hiei, so it should be all right, but there's no telling how Hiei would feel about it. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"On my honor, I swear I'll keep it a secret."

"Okay, it all started..." she began. Touya listened closely as Botan told him the whole story, starting with Koenma's marriage proposal and ending with the third test.

"And now Hiei has to find me and if he doesn't we'll probably never pass this stupid test. DANG IT, HIEI, YOU HAD BETTER NOT BE DEAD!"

Ningens began staring at them, and Touya looked around nervously. "Uh, Botan, people are starting to stare at us..."

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl burst into tears. "He's not going to come... sob He doesn't sob even care about sob me! He's going to sob let Koenma marry me!"

Looking around uneasily, Touya wished the ningens would just go away. This was the last thing he needed. After hours of watching over insane demons on the loose in Ningenkai, he was going to be kicked out of a ningen mall because of a hysterical ferry girl. Oh, the sad, pitiful life of the unfortunate ice master.

"Botan... it's okay... he'll come, don't worry..." Touya was very uncomfortable around the sobbing girl. Fighting huge, ugly demons that are ten times his size? Sure! Comforting a girl who's in tears over her lousy boyfriend? Uh, no thank you!

Touya patted her back sympathetically and watched as the ningens began to lose interest in them and went back to what they were doing. Eventually, Botan's sobs subsided, and she calmed down enough to talk.

"I'm so sorry, Touya, I've just been under so much stress lately! I've had to put up with Hiei and Koenma, and it's just... argh!"

"I think I know what you mean... I've been stuck with Jin and the others since the Dark Tournament. On a daily basis, I have to put up with their insanity and make sure they don't kill us all."

Botan smiled at him understandingly. "I've only had to deal with this for a day... Lucky me, somebody must really like me in the heavens."

"Sometimes that's not a good thing." Touya was referring to Koenma liking Botan.

"Too true..." Botan said as she laughed. "Okay, now that you know all about my twisted love life, tell me about yours!"

"Nani!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Tell me about your love life! You have to have a girlfriend or at least a crush!"

"Nope. I'm a bachelor, and happy too!" Touya announced.

Pouting, Botan argued, "Don't you like _anyone_? Come on, there's gotta be a girl you think is at least cute! You can tell me!"

"Well... there is _someone_..." he admitted, avoiding eye contact with the nosy girl.

"Oh, tell me, tell me!"

"No, I can't do that! Her family's crazy, and if word gets out, there is no telling what will happen to me!"

"I promise I won't tell anyone! Look, if you don't tell my secret, I won't tell yours!" Botan promised eagerly.

"I can't..."

"Come on, it's okay to tell me! I'm your friend, aren't I? Just tell me her name!"

"I don't think I should..."

Relentlessly, Botan continued pleading, "Just tell me! I swear I'll keep it a secret."

"You swear?" Touya checked.

"Yes! Now tell me already!" Botan exclaimed in anticipation. Oh, busybodies ALWAYS find out some way or another!

"...It's Yukina," Touya finally mumbled. He couldn't believe he was telling her this. Never had he dared to tell anyone such a deep secret! But Botan was so easy to talk to, it was hard to not just tell her everything.

"Oh my goodness, you two would make the perfect couple! And, just think of the children - they'll be absolutely adorable! You're going to make a great father, Touya!"

Touya gaped at her in shock. "I haven't even considered mating with her! I just want to date the girl!"

"Yeah, yeah, your opinion will change with time, I'm sure," she replied breezily. "Anyway, I do understand what you meant about her having a crazy family... Hiei can be a bit overprotective, can't he?"

"Overprotective? He's worse than a female demon protecting her offspring!" Touya stated dryly.

"I know he can be a bit... obsessive, but he means well," Botan reassured with a nod.

"It still means that I have no chance with his sister!" the poor demon said.

Botan knew there was truth behind his words, but she felt like there was something she had to do to help him. He was a great guy and he deserved his fair chance to date Yukina! "Hey, I've got an idea!"

"What is it?" Whatever scheme Botan had in mind, Touya doubted it would work. He had already given up all hope of dating that pretty ice apparition as soon as he discovered Hiei was her brother.

"I bet I could convince Hiei to let you have at least one date with Yukina. In return, you have to find me some possible brides for Koenma!"

That seemed easy enough. There were lots of girls who would love to marry a god, so Touya wouldn't have to search hard. "Well, okay, I guess so."

"Great!" Botan fished out a communication mirror and handed it to Touya. "This is a communication mirror. I'll use it to update you on the situation with Hiei, okay?"

Touya accepted it and put it away in a pocket. "Okay then."

"Now that that's settled, Hiei needs to get over here already!"

Botan and Touya waited for a few minutes, both scanning the food court for any sign of Hiei. Suddenly, they heard a large crash behind them. They turned around to discover what used to be a potted plant laying on the floor in pieces. Standing in the middle of the destruction was none other than...

"Yusuke!"

"Uh, hi guys..." the Spirit Detective greeted sheepishly.


	10. Yusuke Causes Trouble

**Last Chapter...**

_"Yusuke!"_

_"Uh, hi guys..." the Spirit Detective greeted sheepishly._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 10: Yusuke Causes Trouble**

After leaving Kurama's house, the four split up: Yukina and Kuwabara went to search a nearby park while Keiko and Yusuke went to the nearby mall. Keiko told Yusuke to search the first floor while she went to the second floor. He didn't want to anger her, so he agreed to her plan immediately.

Yusuke walked past dozens of stores, searching for any sign of Botan, but he was unsuccessful. It didn't exactly help that it was crowded with people, and he had to dodge someone every few seconds to avoid being knocked over, nor was he amused when he almost fell down the escalator when someone stumbled into him. By the time Yusuke arrived at the food court, he was in a very bad mood.

He finally found her at the food court, sitting with a familiar demon. Yusuke couldn't believe he was seeing Touya of all beings with Botan at the mall in Ningenkai. This was odd, very odd indeed. Something must be terribly wrong!

Yusuke creeped closer, making sure his ki was low enough to go undetected, and eventually found a hiding spot behind a large potted plant. He was now close enough to see Botan and Touya, but still couldn't hear them because of all of the noisy ningens around him. From Hiei's story, Yusuke knew that Koenma had kidnapped Botan, so either Touya was helping Koenma or Botan had somehow escaped. He doubted the honorable ice master would stoop as low as kidnapping former ferry girls to aid an envious demigod, so he decided on the latter.

Assuming that Botan had managed to escape from Koenma, Yusuke wondered why she was now with Touya. Had he rescued her? Did they meet by chance? Yusuke could only watch and hope to discover more.

Watching her closely, Yusuke could tell Botan was laughing. Why would she laugh? She had just been kidnapped, for kami's sake! Unless... Hmmm... a guy and a girl, together at the food court in a mall. It didn't take a genius to figure out what must be going on.

Touya and Botan were on a date!

Yusuke couldn't believe it, but the proof was right there in front of his very eyes. He didn't know how Botan had gotten away from Koenma and how she ended up with Touya, but those were minor details. Right now the most important thing was that something had to be done about this! Hiei and Yusuke might not always get along with one another, but they were friends and teammates. Yusuke would help the fire youkai, no matter what!

The Spirit Detective glared at the pair sitting only a few feet away from him. This was so wrong. Botan, that double-crossing onna, told Hiei she loved him, and after he returned those feelings, this is how she decided to repay him? Sadistic and cruel though he may be, Hiei had a good heart, and never would Yusuke allow anyone to play him like some kind of _boy toy_!

If Hiei ever found out that Botan was cheating on him with another demon, it would absolutely break his heart. Imagine the first being he ever dared to love as a girlfriend doing such a horrible thing behind his back! The fire demon would probably go insane. Nobody within a 100-mile radius would be safe from Hiei's fury, least of all Botan and Touya.

On the other hand, Botan was another one of Yusuke's friends, and even though what she had done was wrong, Yusuke would do his best to prevent her from being killed by an angry fire demon. Mortally injured, though, was another story...

As his anger built up, Yusuke decided that he would have to take action and stop this horrendous wrongdoing. He continued watching Touya and Botan as they talked to each other. Without even realizing it, spirit energy was slowly gathering at Yusuke's index finger.

Suddenly he saw Botan give Touya something that looked like a mirror. Hey, wait a minute... Yusuke recognized that to be a communication mirror! How dare she give him Reikai property just because she was too cheap for a cell phone!

Yusuke's anger reached its peak, and he accidentally let loose his trademark Spirit Gun. Thankfully, it didn't hit any people, but it did manage to destroy the potted plant that had been Yusuke's hiding place. With a crash, the remains of the plant landed on the floor. Many of the surrounding ningens looked to see what all of the commotion was about, but that wasn't of Yusuke's concern.

Touya and Botan were staring at Yusuke, shocked by his sudden appearance. This wasn't exactly the dramatic entrance Yusuke had wanted, but no matter. This would have to do.

"Yusuke!" Botan asked incredulously.

"Uh, hi guys..." he answered.

Touya raised an eyebrow at the remains of the potted plant on the floor. "You should be more careful Yusuke. It isn't like you to destroy random objects in public."

Yusuke grinned sheepishly. "Eheheh... clumsy old me, always knocking things over..."

"Do you want to sit down, Yusuke?" Botan offered. Neither one seemed to suspect Yusuke knew what was going on, but he noticed the way they acted so casual, not a trace of guilt in their eyes. It sickened Yusuke.

Deciding to find out more information before confronting them, Yusuke pulled up a chair and sat down. "So, what are you two doing here?"

Touya and Botan exchanged a secretive glance. Oooh, there was definitely something going on between them! Swiftly, Touya answered, "Uh, I was just waiting for Jin, and Botan's been waiting for Hiei, and we sort of ran into each other and decided to talk while we were waiting."

He said he was waiting for Jin? HA! Yusuke knew that Jin wasn't allowed back into Ningenkai since his rampage through Toys R Us! His lie had been caught! Now that he knew for sure something was most certainly wrong, it was time to start interfering.

"What are you doing here, Yusuke?" Botan asked.

"Oh, just looking for Keiko. So where've you been lately, Botan? We've missed you since we last saw you with _Hiei_, your _boyfriend_," Yusuke said furtively, trying to remind Botan of the man she was cheating on.

Botan seemed unfazed by this and said, "Oh, here and there, you know how it is. By the way, do you know where Hiei is? I've been waiting for him for a while. He's not injured, is he?"

Her feigned concern made Yusuke angrier. It was bad enough to be unfaithful to a guy, but then to act like you still care? Pathetic!

"Oh, I just saw Hiei, and he told us everything - how you two fell in love, Koenma kidnapped you, and Hiei's Jagan lost its power. I can't believe you, Botan! I thought you loved him! He's out there right now looking for you, and you're here with Touya!"

Botan's face had such a confused look that she almost convinced Yusuke - _almost_. "I don't understand Yusuke. What are you talking about?"

"He thinks we're on a date," Touya answered, understanding exactly what Yusuke meant. "Baka!"

"NANI! Me... and Touya? ON A DATE? **_TOGETHER_**! How dare you think that I would do something like that!" Botan shrieked. Her temper was steadily rising, and Yusuke could tell.

"Uh, is that Keiko calling me? Gotta run!" he said as he took off. That went rather badly, so it was better to escape before Botan could attack him. This was even worse than Yusuke had first imagined. She cheated on Hiei, and then when she knew she was caught, she acted like nothing was wrong and even had the nerve to lie about it!

Yusuke decided that he should go tell Keiko everything. He ran to the second floor of the mall and looked for her, eventually finding her by a department store. He called out her name and ran over to her before he lost her in the crowd.

Keiko turned and saw him. "What is it, Yusuke? Have you found her?"

"Oh, I found her all right, that double-crossing, back-stabbing-"

"Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?"

Yusuke told Keiko everything, including his suspicions about her cheating on Hiei.

"She's cheating on Hiei with _Touya_! How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Keiko demanded to know.

"Come on, I'll show you!"

Yusuke led Keiko back downstairs and to the food court, making sure there was plenty of distance between them and Botan in case she saw them and got mad again. "See? What did I tell you? They're on a date!"

"Oh my god! She is! That little-"

"I know! We have to tell Hiei! Do you know where he is?"

"I'm not sure. He's probably out searching for Botan."

"Maybe Kurama knows where he is. He's got a cell phone, right?"

"Yeah, let's call him then." Keiko pulled out her cellular phone and called Kurama. This was going to be sweet. That lying ferry girl was going to get what she deserved!


	11. In Which Shishi Needs a Haircut

**Last Chapter...**

_"Yeah, let's call him then." Keiko pulled out her cellular phone and called Kurama. This was going to be sweet. That lying ferry girl was going to get what she deserved!_

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 11: In Which Shishi Needs a Haircut**

Hiei, Shizuru, and Kurama were walking down the street in search of Botan when Kurama's cell phone rang.

"What the heck is that!" Hiei asked, glaring at the source of the irritating noise. "It's annoying."

Amused at his ignorance, Shizuru smiled and explained what a cellular phone was while Kurama answered the call, "Hello? ...Yes, Hiei's right here..." In response to whatever was said next, a grin crept onto the fox's face. "Oh, is that so? ...Okay, I'll tell him... Fine, we'll meet you there. Bye."

Kurama hung up and slipped it back into his pocket. Hiei and Shizuru regarded him curiously, wondering what had been said.

"That was Keiko. She says Botan is cheating on you with Touya," he answered with a grin.

"Nani!" Shizuru asked as Hiei eyed the fox inquisitively.

"They were searching for Botan at the mall, and Yusuke saw Botan and Touya together at the food court. He thought Botan was on a date, became angry and accidentally destroyed something. He told Keiko, and then Keiko told us."

Shizuru shook her head sadly. "Yusuke, that idiot! When's he going to learn not to meddle with other people's business?"

"At least he found Botan for us..." Kurama said optimistically. "Anyway, I agreed to meet them at the entrance to the mall, so let's go."

The trio set off to the designated meeting place. Thankfully, they were close to the mall and arrived within minutes. Keiko and Yusuke were right where they said they would be. As soon as they saw Hiei, they rushed over to him.

"Oh kami, I am sooo sorry, Hiei! I can't believe I accused you of doing something to Botan when she's been toying with you like this! Gomen nasai, Hiei!" Keiko exclaimed.

Yusuke patted the fire demon on the back sympathetically. "Gomen, man, I never saw this coming... Sheesh, if anybody was to be disloyal I figured it would be you..."

Normally Hiei scorned anyone who dared to pity him, but this was most certainly not a typical situation. Instead of telling them off, he silenced them with a calm stare and demanded, "Show me where she is."

Without another word, Keiko and Yusuke led Hiei into the mall. Shizuru and Kurama followed close behind, exchanging worried glances. Hiei wouldn't dare go ballistic in a ningen mall... would he?

Soon enough, Hiei found himself at the food court with Touya and Botan in sight. Yusuke pointed and said, "See? They're on a date!"

Kurama put a hand on Hiei's shoulder and warned, "Don't you dare do anything stupid, Hiei. There are ningens here, and you don't need to get on Koenma's bad side!"

The fire demon slipped from the fox's grasp with a glare and stalked towards Botan and Touya. They noticed him immediately, and Touya muttered, "Finally..."

Botan got up and ran to her beloved. "Hiei!" she squealed as she hugged him tightly.

But to her bewilderment, Hiei shoved her away harshly and growled, "Don't 'Hiei' me, Botan! I trusted you! I gave you my heart and soul, and this is how you repay me! By going off to date the first demon you find! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!"

Botan's eyes widened and she gasped, "You can't believe that I... Touya... but, how..."

Her 'boyfriend' sneered, "Oh, don't worry. Yusuke told me all about your little date."

"Yusuke...?" Botan's eyes flashed dangerously as she scanned the crowd around her. Her gaze finally landed on Yusuke, and she glowered at him. The boy had been enjoying the show, but upon noticing Botan's gaze, he cowered behind Keiko. Fortunately for him, Keiko wasn't easily intimidated and simply glared back.

Shizuru glanced around anxiously, taking note of the people crowding around to see the cause of all the commotion. She whispered to Kurama, "Hiei's causing a scene..."

The fox nodded in agreement and silently prayed that everything would be all right. For all he knew, Hiei might challenge Touya to a death match in the midst of a human audience.

However, much to their relief, Hiei ended the scene by saying, "Come now, Botan, my love. Many things have yet to be discussed, and we don't want to do this in public, now do we?"

His taunting tone struck a nerve in Botan. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short when Hiei grabbed her by the hand and dragged her away.

Although Kurama was relieved that Hiei was going to talk to Botan privately, that sly fire demon had left Shizuru and him to deal with everything! The crowd had yet to disperse, not to mention poor Touya: saving him from Keiko and Yusuke's wrath would require either some very smooth lying or very fast running...

Aware of this, Kurama and Shizuru edged closer to the Ice Master, as Keiko and Yusuke stomped over to him.

Touya watched the four approach, his heart filled with dread. Though he hadn't believed it to be possible, his life was getting WORSE! Hiei - the one demon keeping him from Yukina - now believed Botan had cheated on him with Touya. And now, he would have to face these four...

Much braver now that Botan was gone, Yusuke began, "How could you date her, Touya? I thought you were honorable, but I guess not!"

"I do hope you know you're coming between a very happy couple. And they just got together yesterday! YESTERDAY! You could've at least waited a week before sticking your pretty boy head into their business!" Keiko reprimanded. She slapped the ice master's cheek with all her might, and then turned away dramatically. "Come on Yusuke, let's leave this scum and go find Yukina and Kuwabara! Just wait until we tell them what happened!"

At the mention of Yukina, Touya stopped rubbing his sore face, and his heart came to a standstill. Yukina! They were going to tell her that he had done such a dishonorable thing! Now, Hiei or no Hiei, he would definitely have no chance with her. The Ice Master's life was now officially over...

As soon as Yusuke and Keiko left, Touya stared dully at Kurama and Shizuru. "Well? Are you two going to yell at me too?"

"Oh, don't worry about them. The only people who actually believe that are Yusuke and Keiko," Shizuru reassured him. "We already know the truth, so don't worry about us yelling at you."

"Wait, you know the whole truth?" Touya inquired. He was trying to figure out if Hiei had already told them about Koenma and the whole marriage proposal incident.

"What whole truth?" Kurama asked. Did Touya already know about everything, or did Botan lie to him?

"What did Hiei tell you?"

"What did Botan tell YOU?"

Touya and Kurama stared at each other suspiciously.

But before any progress could be made, Jin, Rinku and Chuu arrived on the scene (and just as the crowd was about to leave too!). Oblivious to the conversation he was interrupting, Jin announced cheerfully, "Oi, Touya! We got a parrot now! Her name's Pepper and she likes salt! See?" Jin demonstrated by pouring salt into his hand and letting the bright green-feathered bird sitting on his shoulder eat it.

Chuu glanced at Kurama and Shizuru, and said, "Oi Touya, who're the pretty gals? Your girlfriends or something?" He leaned in closer to the ice master and muttered, "They strippers, ne? Why didn't you call me and tell me you were having a party?"

Touya glared at him. "No, you baka. That is Shizuru, and that's Kurama, who happens to be a boy. They came with Hiei to pick up Botan."

After studying Kurama suspiciously, Chuu asked, "You sure you're a boy...? Because you look like a girl, and a pretty one too!"

Kurama sweat-dropped and said, "I assure you, I'm most certainly male."

Chuu's eyes narrowed. "Prove it!"

"Nani!" a startled fox asked. Shizuru noticed the shocked expression on Kurama's face and tried to contain her laughter, but failed miserably.

Rinku pulled out a toy hammer from nowhere and thwacked Chuu on the head. "Baka! If he says he's a boy, then he's a boy!"

"So where's Hiei now?" Jin asked.

"He already left with Botan."

"Oh, good! I was afraid that crazy youkai would try to fight you or something. And, you know, fire and ice make water..."

"What? That made no sense, Jin."

Sitting on Jin's shoulder, Pepper the parrot repeated, "KRAWK! Fire and ice make water, KRAWK!"

"Jin, shut your bird up! It's annoying!"

"Wah! I can't do that! Pepper's me parrot pal!"

"AAAAHHH! HELP!" Shishiwakamaru came running towards them, pursued by Suzuka, who was brandishing a pair of scissors.

Touya gaped in horror. Just what they needed - MORE freaks to add to the show!

"Get back here! You need a haircut!" yelled Suzuka.

"You'll never get my hair alive, you hear me? NEVER!"

"But you hair hasn't been cut in _decades_! Besides, short hair's all the rage now!"

Shishi finally reached the food court and quickly hid behind Chuu. "Crazy clown, MY HAIR IS JUST FINE!"

Chuu grinned mischievously and grabbed Shishi by the shoulders, pulling him closer to Suzuka. "Oi, Suzuka, come and get him!"

Suzuka was glad for the help and advanced on the struggling Shishi, smirking the entire time. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rinku practically flew through the air in a flying tackle and hit Suzuka hard, making them both land on the floor.

"Let him be, you baka!"

Suzuka's scissors had flown from his grasp, and Jin spotted them a few feet away. The Wind Master picked them up and stalked towards a still struggling Shishi. Pepper, the parrot sitting on his shoulder, bit Jin sharply on the ear, forcing him to accidentally drop the scissors. "KRAWK! If he says his hair is fine, then let him be! KRAWK! You baka!" the green-feathered bird repeated.

Jin cursed colorfully at his traitorous bird. Then he, Suzuka, Rinku, and Pepper all dived for the scissors simultaneously, as Shishiwakamaru finally freed himself from Chuu's grasp. He quickly jumped away and drew his sword. "I'm going to kill you, you drunkard!"

The ningen crowd gasped, surprised to see a real katana. Surely this crazy swordsman didn't mean to actually kill the big blue-haired guy? Then, perhaps they were putting on a play. Yes, that's it. This must be some sort of play! The audience, thinking everyone was acting, clapped wildly as Shishi tackled Chuu and the others fought over the scissors.

While this was going on, Touya pulled Shizuru and Kurama away from all of the humans. "Okay, tell me what you know!"

"Why don't you tell us what you know first?" Kurama requested.

"Oh, give me a break! Touya, do you know about the marriage proposal or not!" Shizuru interfered.

"Yes... Do you know about the tests?"

"Hai. So everyone knows everything, right?" Shizuru asked.

"Hai..." the two guys chorused.

Shizuru rolled her eyes. Men could be so stubborn and paranoid! If she hadn't been there, those two would still be asking each other questions.

"Well, there's one thing I'd like to know: Why did Keiko and Yusuke think that I would date a girl who already had a boyfriend?" asked Touya.

"Oh, they just jump to the silliest conclusions sometimes," Kurama explained dismissively. He quickly explained what Yusuke saw.

Shizuru asked, "How did you end up here with Botan, anyway?"

The Ice Master told them how they kidnapped Botan by Koenma's orders and everything that happened afterward.

"And you ended up making a deal with Botan...? What was it?" Shizuru asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Touya said. He was reluctant to tell them that he liked Yukina, but... They certainly seemed trustworthy, so it couldn't hurt to tell two more people, could it? "If I find suitable a bride for Koenma, then Botan will convince Hiei to let me date his sister."

"You like Yukina?"

Touya nodded in response, hoping they wouldn't laugh.

"Oh kami, you two would made the perfect couple!" Shizuru exclaimed.

"That's what Botan said right before she started talking about my future children," Touya replied.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Children?"

"Hai, that baka said I was going to make a fine father!"

Shizuru and Kurama looked at him to see if he was serious, and when they saw he was, they burst into laughter.

"What? Quit laughing, it's not funny!" Touya said irritably.

"Gomen, Touya, but I can't even picture you with any children," Shizuru explained, still laughing.

"So, you're saying that I shouldn't have children? Is that it?"

"Erm, no..."

"Because I plan to, baka!"

"Oh? You do? With who?" Kurama asked. "With Yukina, ne?"

Shizuru gushed, "So you're already planning your future with her - how sweet!"

Flustered, Touya blurted, "GAH! No, you bakas, I just want to DATE her! Not... that other stuff..."

Kurama chuckled and said, "Okay, if you say so..." Glancing at Jin and the others, who were engaged in a tug-of-war over the scissors, he continued, "Anyway, we should escape before we get pulled into their little war."

Shizuru nodded in agreement, and Touya said in awe, "Escape... I haven't been able to do that in MONTHS!"

"Where can we go? We don't want them finding us, and I know we don't want Keiko and the others finding Touya," Kurama said.

"I think I know a good place to go." The other two turned to look at Shizuru. "Follow me. We can go to my old elementary school."

"Elementary school!" Touya repeated doubtfully.

"They'll never find us there!" she assured.

"If you say so..."

Shizuru led Touya and Kurama far away from the battle that raged in the food court and out of the mall, on their way to her old school.


	12. Joyful Pills

**Last Chapter...**

_Shizuru led Touya and Kurama far away from the battle that raged in the food court and out of the mall, on their way to her old school._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 12: Joyful Pills**

"You don't really believe I was on a date with Touya, do you?" Botan couldn't bear to think that Hiei believed that! Wasn't her word good enough for him?

"Of course not, you baka!" Hiei told her as they continued walking. They had just left the mall, and Botan had no clue where they were going.

"Then why did you say all of those things?" she asked, confused. She had thought he hated her, but after what he just said...

"I had to lie, baka onna! I've already told you, I don't love you - I don't now, never have, and I never will. I could care less if you dated him," Hiei snapped. He knew he was being a bit harsh on her, but he didn't want her to guess his true feelings...

When he first had heard Yusuke's theory about Botan cheating on him with Touya, he had felt a small pang of jealousy. He had ignored it, thinking that he was just used to having Botan's full devotion. Despite however Hiei might act, he didn't hate or even dislike Botan now that he had actually gotten to know her - how could he hate the only girl who dared to love him?

And yet, at the same time, he knew that he didn't love her either. The fire demon was a stranger to such emotion, and at the moment, he was very confused. Should he risk it and open his heart to her, or should he push her away before she could hurt him?

As expected, Botan was slightly hurt at his heartless statement. She tried to forget it and said, "Then what was all of that about?"

He told her what had happened while she was away. In return, Botan told him what happened to her with Touya and the others; of course, she left out everything involving Yukina and Touya. She would save that story for later.

"That certainly clears a few things up. So, where are we going now?"

"Reikai," was his short reply as he continued walking. Taking the hint, Botan quieted, and their journey plowed on in silence.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at the site of a portal to Reikai. Botan activated it, and they both stepped through.

As soon as they arrived, they headed to Koenma's office. When they walked through the doors, they found Koenma staring at the alarm on his desk that was linked to Hiei's Jagan. He had been hoping for it to go off so he could fail them, but upon seeing Hiei and Botan, he was extremely disappointed.

"Hiei, Botan, you made it!" he said, feigning a cheerful tone.

Hiei glared at him and muttered, "No thanks to you, godling. How many more of these ridiculous tests are you going to force us into?"

"Keep your belts on, fire boy, you only have one more test," Koenma retorted, much to Botan's relief. She was ready for this business with Koenma to be over already.

"So, then, what's the test?" she asked eagerly.

"This." Koenma handed Hiei a folder, containing a short stack of papers. "Finish this mission, and you will have completed this half of our deal. Fail it, and you fail everything. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Koenma," Botan answered. Then Hiei and Botan began poring over the papers.

Their mission was to go to King Yama's private island in Makai, nicknamed 'Happy Island'. Millenniums ago, it had been a favorite vacationing spot for the gods, but after the war with the Netherworld, it had been abandoned. Eventually, it was filled with lower class demon criminals who were trying to escape from the law. Gambling, drinking, stealing, and other sorts of illegal activities went on unchecked by anyone since no one else dared to enter the gods' island. Hiei and Botan were to get rid of all of the demons and make it presentable for to Koenma use as part of his wedding plans.

After they finished reading, Koenma held out two blue pills in the palms of his hands and said, "Before you leave, you have to eat one of these."

Hiei narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pills. "What the heck are those!"

"They're called... uh, Joyful Pills. Just take them, or else you won't pass the test!" the god finished hastily.

The fire demon thought over his options. He could always refuse to take them and fail the tests, but it would just be a waste to quite now.

If he were to take them, his only hope would be that Koenma was giving them the same pill. The godling wouldn't dare give his beloved Botan something fatal, so the effects couldn't be too horrible.

Hiei would just have to take a chance. Whatever happens next would happen, and he would simply have to deal with it then.

Cautiously, the fire demon grabbed a pill and swallowed it. Botan followed his lead and did the same. After making sure that they had swallowed them, Koenma said, "Good. Now you should begin your mission. You have exactly one week."

"No," Hiei stated. "We have to go to Ningenkai first."

Koenma glared at him and answered, "Fine. Go to Ningenkai. The timer will automatically begin once you reach Happy Island."

Hiei nodded, and then walked out of Koenma's office, followed closely by Botan. "Hiei?" she asked as soon as they were far enough away from Koenma. "Where are we going?"

"Ningenkai."

"I know that! I mean, where in Ningenkai?"

"To find the fox."

"What! Why?" she asked, surprised. They were so close to finishing the tests, and he wanted to visit Kurama?

"To learn more about the effects of those 'Joyful Pills'. Koenma has something planned..."

"Oh. Well, it can't be too bad, can it?" Botan replied optimistically. "I mean, he DOES love me, so..."

"Yes, but you left him for me. What are the chances of something GOOD coming from it?" Hiei answered as he shot her a dark look.

"Oh..." Botan frowned. His realistic logic sure dampened the mood...


	13. Not So Joyful Effects

**Last Chapter...**

_"What! Why?" she asked, surprised. They were so close to finishing the tests, and he wanted to visit Kurama?_

_"To learn more about the effects of those 'Joyful Pills'. Koenma has something planned..."_

_"Oh. Well, it can't be too bad, can it?" Botan replied optimistically. "I mean, he DOES love me, so..."_

_"Yes, but you left him for me. What are the chances of something GOOD coming from it?" Hiei answered as he shot her a dark look._

_"Oh..." Botan frowned. His realistic logic sure dampened the mood..._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 13: Not So Joyful Effects**

Shizuru, Kurama, and Touya soon arrived at Shizuru's old elementary school playground. It was empty of children, being a Saturday, so they didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing their conversation.

Kurama, leaning against the ladder of a slide, began the conversation by asking, "Would you like help finding someone for Koenma?" Touya nodded, so the fox continued, "She would have to be single with at least halfway decent looks."

Touya contributed, "Also, be comfortable with Koenma and the three worlds, and strong enough to hold her own against other gods."

"Yes..." Kurama nodded thoughtfully. "That brings one person to mind..."

Pointedly, Kurama and Touya stared at Shizuru.

"Nani! ME!"

Touya looked her over. "Yes, you'd be perfect. You can keep Koenma in line! You can help run Reikai! Yes, it would be perfect!"

"No way! I am not about to date a two-feet tall toddler!" she objected. How dare they even consider...

"Shizuru, he's right. You would be perfect for Koenma," Kurama told her.

"I refuse to marry a god who's still in love with his ferry girl!"

"He'll get over it, especially if you help him forget about her. Come on, Shizuru, a little seduction, and you'll have a _god_ at your beck an call," Kurama persuaded with an impish grin.

"NO!" Shizuru gritted her teeth and glared at the offending fox.

"Please?" Touya asked. "Otherwise, I'd have to search everywhere to find someone. And by then, it might be too late, and I'd never get a chance with Yukina..."

Shizuru shook her head. "Sorry, that's YOUR problem."

"Oh, just one date to see if you like him. Then we'll leave you alone."

"NO! NO, NO, and NO!"

"Them, this is a sad day indeed. My courting of Yukina would be stopped before it even began, not because of Hiei - but because Shizuru is too biased to see past a god's toddler exterior and give him a fair chance at true love," Touya proclaimed. He pouted just for the extra dramatic effect.

"Oh, just look at the poor guy! He's POUTING, Shizuru, like a little puppy dog," Kurama sympathized. "Why not give him a break and help his sorry soul?"

"You two..." Shizuru began. Then she clamped her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, and began a quiet mantra, "SEE no evil, HEAR no evil, speak no evil..."

Kurama sweat-dropped, and Touya sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

Considering the problem at hand, the fox mentally toyed with possible solutions. Perhaps Shizuru could be tricked into this...

Turning to Touya, he offered, "Let me handle this. I may know how to convince her. But in the meantime, I suggest you go back to the mall and check on your friends. Jin and the others may prove too crazy for ningens to handle..."

Touya's eyes widened at the thought of all the destruction his friends could do. He had almost forgotten about them. "Hai!" Touya replied and, in a panic, began running to the mall.

The clever fox watched his retreating form as he thought about what to do next. He was struck by an idea and quickly walked close to Shizuru, who was still muttering. He placed an arm around her shoulders, trying to be as nice as possible.

"Shizuru, dear, you're going to go on the date whether you like it or not. One date, that's all. And guess what? If you'd like, you can double date with Touya and Yukina. Sounds good, ne?"

Shizuru quieted to glare at the fox. "You want me to not only go on a date with a demigod with a pacifier, but double date with the idiot who forced me to do so in the first place? No thank you!"

"If you don't, I'll tell everyone your secret!"

"What secret?"

"You know, the secret!"

"Oh! You mean the secret so secret that nobody knows it's even a secret?"

"Yes, yes, of course!"

"The secret about me beating up the guy WHO FORCES PEOPLE TO DATE TODDLERS!"

Okay, scratch that idea...

"Uh... what if I went too?" Kurama offered, desperate to make her agree.

"You'll come too?" repeated Shizuru, surprised.

"I guess I could..."

Shizuru took a few moments to consider the offer. It would make her feel a lot better if Kurama had to be subject to the torture too.

Finally, she nodded in agreement. "...Okay, I could do that. I'll go on this ridiculous group date with Koenma, Touya, and Yukina if you tag along with your date. And everyone had best leave me alone after that!"

"Eh, I have to get a date? But... what about the," Kurama said as he looked around suspiciously and dropped his voice down to a whisper, "_fangirls_? They'll go insane... INSANE, I TELL YOU!"

"Of course you have to get a date. You don't want to be the fifth wheel, after all," Shizuru answered with a smirk.

"But..." the fox objected, confused. How had she managed to turn the tables so quickly?

"Kurama, dear, you're going to go on the date whether you like it or not," Shizuru teased.

"Don't mock me!"

"You wouldn't have this problem if you were like every other perverted male! Out of all the men I know, you are the ONLY one afraid of any girl who likes him!"

"I can't help it if I have a very scary fanclub!"

"Is it because you don't like girls? Is that why you refuse those fangirls day after day, even the ones willing to do anything for you?"

"...I like girls. Very much so. Just not the ones that I know," Kurama objected, his Youko side very much offended.

"Okay then! Prove your masculinity by finding a date!"

"...I really hate you right now..." he growled.

"Ditto."

"Do you realize how angry the fangirls will be? How hard it will be for me to find a suitable date?"

"Your problem. Deal with it!" she retorted callously.

He warned, "I'll make the date as miserable for you as possible."

"I'm agreeing to date a toddler. I don't think it gets much worse than that."

"You'll regret this."

"If I have to go on a stupid date and be miserable, then I'm taking you down with me!"

"Oh, alright already! I'll go, I'll go! Just promise me this - don't alert the fangirls!"

Shizuru adopted a look of feigned innocence. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Shortly after arriving in Ningenkai and discovering Kurama's whereabouts, thanks to Hiei's Jagan, Botan began to feel sick. Her stomach began feeling queasy, her head hurt, and her whole body seemed stiff and sore.

"Hiei... I don't feel well..." Botan moaned. Drowsiness began to overcome her, and she could hardly stay on her feet.

Hiei glanced at her, hoping that she would pull through at least until they met Kurama. He didn't want to have to deal with this right now. As Botan slowed, and eventually stopped walking altogether, Hiei impatiently grabbed her by the hand and dragged her along.

"Hurry up, and quit complaining."

"Um... Hiei...?"

The fire demon's eyes were set ahead, and his thoughts were directed towards the primary goal of reaching Kurama before the pills did something to them. He growled irritably, "What do you want?"

"I... I think... I'm, uh, shrinking..." Botan said, her voice rapidly becoming higher pitched until it reached that of a child's.

Indeed, the hand Hiei had grabbed was becoming smaller. He glanced at the new Botan. She was much shorter and seemed to be the size of small ningen child, perhaps around six or seven years of age.

"I don't feel so good..." she groaned in her child-like voice. Suddenly, the drowsiness hit its climax and she slumped to the ground in a faint.

Hiei's eyes widened after seeing this. If this was the effect of Koenma's Joyful Pills, then his turn would come soon. If Hiei ran fast enough, he might reach the fox before he fainted as well. He could only hope the fox would know what to do to return them to normal.

Quickly, he grabbed Botan's unconscious body and began running towards his destination, immediately becoming nothing more than a black blur to the ningen eye. On the way, he was already becoming smaller. His face seemed to lose years' worth of glaring and smirking, and his Jagan shrunk as well to fit his newly shaped head. Hiei ignored how ill he felt, his mind set on reaching the fox before he succumbed to the deep slumber that was beckoning him.

His determination paid off within a few minutes when he saw the playground and the familiar forms of Kurama and Shizuru. As soon as he reached their side, the fire demon dumped Botan on the ground in front of Shizuru and Kurama.

At the sight of their miniaturized friends, Shizuru let out an exclamation of surprise as Kurama asked, "Hiei! What happened?" Their argument over the group date was completely forgotten, and a temporary truce called.

As tired as he was, Hiei felt he had to tell them something and said drowsily, "Koenma forced us... Joyful Pills... Hn..."

Those were the only words Hiei managed to get out before the sleepiness overcame him. His heavy eyelids finally closed, and he hit the ground in a dead faint.


	14. Sugar High! Oh My!

**Last Chapter...**

_As tired as he was, Hiei felt he had to tell them something and said drowsily, "Koenma forced us... Joyful Pills... Hn..."_

_Those were the only words Hiei managed to get out before the sleepiness overcame him. His heavy eyelids finally closed, and he hit the ground in a dead faint._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 14: Sugar High! OH MY!**

"SECURITY! Outta the way, people, security coming through!"

No less than 5 mall security guards pushed and shoved their way through the crowd of people, all armed, dangerous, and looking as if they'd just eaten a baker's dozen of donuts.

When they finally got through to see what was going on, every single one of their eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

Shishiwakamaru and Chuu were currently dueling with a broken katana and the leg of a chair from the food court. Pepper the parrot was flying around above everyone as Jin, frustrated that he wasn't allowed to use his powers, jumped up and down desperately, trying to get his bird back. Rinku had just discovered the joys of sugar highs, and was eating all of the sugar in sight. Suzuka was posing for the newspaper photographers that had come to see the new hilarious circus at the mall.

"Eh, so what do we do, boss?" one security guard asked.

His boss, Bob, stared in wonder at the odd sight. People got stranger and stranger every day! "Uh, well, we arrest them! That's what we do!"

"Arrest them? For what?"

"Uh... For disrupting the peace, of course!"

The security guards looked at the crowd of people around them as everyone applauded for what they considered to be a circus act.

"Doesn't look like they're disrupting anything to me!"

"Well, then, smart guy, what do YOU propose we do!"

"Break time."

"Time for donuts."

"See ya!"

Four fled the scene to the comforts of the nearest donut shop, leaving Bob behind to deal with everything. Sighing, he muttered, "They really don't pay me enough to do this job..." Another glance at the crazy demons was enough to make Bob shake his head sadly and walk away. "I'm not even going to try to deal with those whackjobs!"

So, thanks to whoever doesn't pay security guards enough, Jin and company were safe from any interruptions in their odd show, and their audience was free to continue watching.

That is, until...

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!"

...Touya arrived.

"Oi, Touya! Come to join us?" Jin asked with a grin on his face.

Twitching like mad, Touya glared at the cheerful Wind Master. "You have five seconds to tell me what is going on here before I call Koenma and get all of you thrown into Reikai prison!"

"Hmph, you're very mean today!"

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"Some question... Sounded more like an order," Jin replied.

Touya glared at him, as if telling him that now was NOT the time for jokes. Jin sighed and, pointing to each demon in turn, he explained their actions.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bird to catch!" And with that, Jin returned to his task.

Trying to control his temper, Touya watched the show as the crowd burst into applause. Such a dense audience! Did they really think this was a circus?

But, as he continued observing, they did seem funny and most peculiar. If Touya didn't know them personally, he would think that nobody in their right mind could possibly act like such fools. And in front of a public human audience, no less!

Did his companions not know the consequences their irrational behavior may bring? Koenma would be fuming if he knew! And the god would probably punish Touya along with the others for not stopping them. If that happened, Yukina would definitely find out and never look upon the Ice Master the same way again!

...But she probably already knew about his 'date' with Botan, so it was already too late...

Curse the gods! Curse his friends! Curse everyone! Touya had been perfectly content with living in Makai and admiring Yukina from a distance! Had it not been for Botan and Hiei, he wouldn't be in this mess!

Botan... Hiei... They were the cause for this trouble! The causers of his pain! Hiei was the only obstacle that had kept Touya from Yukina for such a long time! And although Botan was his only hope to get past Hiei, she still caused him pain! Touya did not like that.

...Uh-oh... Now he was beginning to sound like Rando... 1 That couldn't be good! Time to put an end to this brooding and get busy!

"That's it. GET OUT! LEAVE THIS PLACE AND RETURN TO MAKAI!" Touya yelled, but nobody paid attention. Not even so much as a glance to poor Touya. "I'll tell Koenma! And then he'll come and arrest you all!" Still no one looked at him. Not even the dense human audience!

Touya glanced around the food court for some kind of idea. The humans would be of no help, and the same for Shishi, Chuu, and Suzuka. Jin was too busy trying to get his bird to help willingly. That left Rinku... He glanced at the demon, who was shoveling sugar by the packet into his mouth.

There was only one sure way to make him help. _Take away the sugar..._

Slipping behind Rinku, whose mind was completely lost in the ecstasy of his sugar high, Touya quickly tackled the young demon and kicked the untouched sugar packets out of reach.

Landing flat on his face on the floor, Rinku's protests were muffled. Touya put a foot on his back and pressed all his weight down to insure Rinku was staying put. Smirking slightly, Touya offered, "Rinku, if you assist me in getting the other four out of the mall before something bad happens, not only will I let you have all of the sugar in the hotel, but I will also buy four bags from the grocery store. If you refuse, I will make you allergic to sugar. Do you understand?"

Rinku growled in response, which Touya took as a yes. He stepped aside and let him get up, but made sure to keep a tight hold on the leash. Looking around at the four demons that kept him from his goal of sugary heaven, Rinku quickly formed a plan. Dragging Touya along, he ran towards Suzuka and bit him on the arm.

"ITAI! YOU'LL LEAVE TEETHMARKS!"

Then he did the same to Shishiwakamaru.

"YOU LITTLE-"

"Suzuka's special cream for teeth marks is at the hotel!" Rinku reminded.

Without a backward glance, Shishi and Suzuka were out of there.

Next was Chuu, who was still confused about Shishi leaving in the middle of the duel. Rinku whispered something in his ear that made his eyes widen incredibly and a grin form on his face. Without another word, he too left for the hotel.

"What in Reikai did you tell him?" Touya asked, awed.

"Where you hid the hentai mags!"

"WHAT! HE SHOULDN'T BE READING THOSE!"

"And YOU should?"

"I don't read them! I hid them from the others so they wouldn't indulge their hentai fantasies with ningen magazines!"

"Hmph, so says the ice demon who dated Ruka!"

"I did no such thing!"

"Botan lover!"

"NANI!"

"Keiko fanboy!"

"Untrue!"

"Lemon obsessed! Lime induced! Fan of all things hentai!"

"What are you saying! I AM NOT CHUU! And you still have to get Jin to leave!"

"I'll do what I please, oh fair PMSing ice maiden!"

"URSAI!"

"Idol of hentais everywhere! Hiei wannabe! Kurama fanboy! Writer of citrus-y things!"

"MATTE! Why the heck are you insulting me! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU!"

"You took away my sugar!"

"Only so you would eventually get MORE sugar!"

"Hmph! You still took away my sugar! My sweet, precious sugar!"

Touya rolled his eyes. Obviously Rinku was sky-high on sugar. Perhaps Touya should find out his sugar tolerance level before he gave him any more sugary substances.

"Just go get Jin!"

"Oh, all right!"

Stalking up behind the Wind Master, Rinku grabbed Jin by the ears and abruptly marched out of the mall, Touya tagging along behind him. Jin's struggling stopped almost immediately as the vice-like grip wreaked havoc on his sensitive ears. Touya gaped at this. Since when was Rinku stronger than Jin?

Oh well. There was a time to worry, and it was certainly not now.

The ningens applauded wildly as the trio made their way out, calling out for more of the wonderful circus act. Once they were outside the mall and away from the crowd of ningens, Rinku finally released Jin.

"Why'd you make me leave! PEPPER'S STILL IN THERE!"

"Suck it up, Karasu fanboy!" was Rinku's sugar-induced reply.

"NANI! I want my parrot pal back!"

"Non-bishie! Stalker of Mukuro! Slave of Reishyo!"

Touya allowed a small half smile at Rinku's antics, glad that it wasn't directed at him any more.

Jin looked at Rinku oddly. "What's stuck up his butt!"

"He's on a sugar high."

"...Oh. Can I go get my parrot now?"

"No, Jin!"

"You suck!" Jin pouted.

"You suck what? You can't just say that and not complete the sentence! It has no direct object!" said Rinku.

"Eh...!"

They continued walking, ignoring Rinku's mad ranting. Touya led them along on the sidewalk, past ningens, shops, and houses.

After a while, Jin commented, "Oi, Touya, where are we going? This isn't the way back to the hotel!"

"I know..." What Touya didn't mention was that he wanted to go to the playground to see what happened with Shizuru and Kurama. There was no need to waste time explaining trivial things to Rinku and Jin when they would find out eventually.

* * *

1 If you don't understand why he sounds like Rando, it's because in the show Rando told Yusuke, "You have caused me pain. I do not like that." (Those might not be the exact words, but whatever.)


	15. Research

In response to **Jordsan**: No worries! You'll be seeing H/B chibi cuteness VERY soon! Just as soon as they wake up from their comas (I guess you could call it that).

**Last Chapter...**

_After a while, Jin commented, "Oi, Touya, where are we going? This isn't the way back to the hotel!"_

_"I know..." What Touya didn't mention was that he wanted to go to the playground to see what happened with Shizuru and Kurama. There was no need to waste time explaining trivial things to Rinku and Jin when they would find out eventually._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 15: Research**

"So what do you think we should do?" Shizuru asked Kurama. They each held an unconscious chibi in their arms.

"I'm not sure. From what Hiei said, I assume Koenma gave them 'Joyful Pills' and it turned them into chibis. But what does this even have to do with anything? Turning chibi doesn't prove love."

"Unless he's testing if their love lasts through this change from normal to chibi."

"But how would he know that it did? This can't prove that they love or hate each other. When someone is chibified, not only does their body become younger, but their mind as well. They will act and think like children! There's no way to tell how a childish Hiei would act towards Botan," Kurama explained, becoming more and more exasperated by the moment.

Shizuru shrugged. "Maybe the test is whether or not they can find the cure."

"How would that prove their love though?"

"I don't know!"

"Neither do I. We'll have to discover it later," Kurama said. Then, recognizing someone from a distance, he nodded in the direction. "Look, Touya and the others are here."

As soon as Touya had come close enough to see the chibis, he gaped and wondered aloud, "Is that... Hiei and Botan?"

Kurama nodded in response, but offered no further explanation.

"What happened?" prompted Jin. He and Rinku were also staring at the pair oddly.

"We don't really know. Hiei came running to us, carrying an unconscious Botan, and they were already chibi," answered Kurama."Then he said something about Koenma and Joyful Pills before he passed out."

Jin admitted, "Joyful Pills? I've never heard of that."

"I don't think anyone has," Shizuru replied.

"But enough about that! We can discuss it later. Guess what? Shizuru agreed to go on the date," Kurama announced with a grin.

Before the boys got too excited, Shizuru reminded, "Only if you and Yukina go too, and Kurama with his date."

Touya blinked in surprise. They actually agreed on a group date? Well, if it meant he could date Yukina, then it was welcomed news!

"Oh, a group date? I wanna go!" said Jin.

"What do you mean, you want to go? You don't even have a date!" Touya reprimanded. Jin shouldn't be allowed to go and ruin his chance with Yukina!

"Well I'll take Rinku then!"

"SHOUNEN AI! HE'S HITTING ON ME!" screamed Rinku suddenly.

"I would take you as a friend, you dope!"

"JIN IS IN LOVE WITH ME! NOOOOOO! I DON'T SWING THAT WAY!"

Glowering and baring his fangs, Jin growled, "I don't like anyone that way! Baka!"

"Yes, you do!" Rinku grinned knowingly. "You just admitted it: you like Touya!"

"HOW DID I JUST ADMIT THAT! You baka! He's my friend! MY FRIEND! Haven't you ever heard of a platonic relationship!"

"Friend as in boyfriend!"

Shizuru and Kurama sweat-dropped. "What's Rinku's problem?"

"Sugar high," was Touya's answer before lauching into a more detailed account of their antics at the mall.

Suddenly, there was a _BONK!_

And then a _THUMP!_

Finally fed up with Rinku's wild accusations, Jin had hit the boy on the head. The younger demon fell to the ground, unconscious. The others stared at the sight, not sure whether to be shocked at Jin or relieved Rinku was silenced.

"What! You can't tell me he wasn't annoying you too!"

"Great... Just what we needed! Another unconscious chibi!"

"I think we should go somewhere and take care of them. We look kind of odd standing here at a children's playground with three unconscious chibis. People might think we kidnapped them..."

"How about my house?" Kurama offered. "I know today my family was going to go out, so it should be empty."

Everyone agreed at once and so the group set out for Kurama's house. On the way, Jin asked, "Are you going to tell me what's really going on? All of this isn't part of some training program of Koenma's, is it? That's what he told us earlier, but there's something strange going on here and you three are keeping secrets from me!"

Kurama looked at Touya questioningly, as if to ask whether or not Jin can be trusted. When Touya nodded his consent, Kurama began.

"It all started yesterday, when Koenma told us that Botan was missing..."

Several minutes later, Jin had been told the full story. When it was completed, Jin grinned mischievously and asked, "One more thing. Before you mentioned Shizuru would only go on the date if Touya went with Yukina...? You like Hiei's sister, ne?"

"So? What of it!" the ice demon snapped defensively.

Grinning, Jin slapped Touya on the back in a friendly manner, as if to congratulate him. "It's about time you found a girlfriend! Maybe she'll get you to lighten up and have some fun!"

"I do have fun sometimes!"

"Reading boring books doesn't count as having fun!"

"Then what do you expect me to do? Act like an idiot like you?"

"Ah, now you're catching on!"

Glaring, Touya replied, "I'm not going to prance about on the roof in my boxers singing out of tune!"

"Hey, I only did that once! Besides, it was fun! You even laughed!"

"I laughed at you because you forgot to fly when you jumped and fell off the roof."

"So what if I fell off? At least I got Mr. Popsicle to laugh!"

"Hmph! Baka!"

"Hmph yourself, Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt!"

Kurama and Shizuru walked beside the arguing demons unnoticed, smiling slightly at their friendly banter. Things were never boring when they were around.

Minutes later the group arrived at Kurama's house. They walked in through the front door, and Kurama led them upstairs to his room. The chibis were placed on Kurama's bed.

"What do you think we should do with them?" Shizuru asked, referring to the three chibis.

"Jin, make sure you didn't injure Rinku. You're responsible for him until he wakes up."

"Oh, he'll be okay! Chuu's hit him worse than that!"

"Fine, whatever. If we have to cart him off to a ningen hospital, you're paying for it," Touya told him. Jin made a face at him, showing he disagreed.

Before Jin and Touya became wrapped up in another argument, Kurama took several books off of his bookshelf. They had information about things from Makai and Reikai, and the fox hoped to find something about Joyful Pills in them. He set a stack of them on the floor in the middle of the room and motioned for everyone to sit down.

"Help me look for information about Joyful Pills. If we're lucky, we'll find a cure."

Everyone grabbed a book and began the search. Nothing was heard except the occasional turning of a page.

Almost an hour passed and nobody found anything. Kurama was beginning to get discouraged. If there were anything in these books, they should have found it by now!

Looking at the clock, he noticed it was almost time for dinner. Although he wanted to continue searching, he didn't want to be a bad host and let his guests go hungry. Standing up, he announced, "I'm going downstairs to cook dinner. If you need anything, please tell me."

As soon as Kurama was out the door, Jin slammed his book down noisily. "This is so BORING! These stupid books don't have anything about those stupid Joyful Pills!"

"This isn't supposed to be for your entertainment. We have to find a cure before they become permanently chibi!" Touya replied.

"How do you know this chibifying effect is permanent? How do you know that they're even actually chibi? This could be an illusion! A trick! A scam! Koenma could be fooling us into thinking that Hiei and Botan are chibi when it's only our perspective of them that has changed! How do you know that's not a possibility?"

"I don't know, but we can't take a chance! We have to look while there is still a possibility of finding something! We must assume we have a deadline before it becomes permanent in case there really is one."

"When's this deadline of yours, then?"

"I don't know!

"Then how am I supposed to assume there is one if we don't know when it is!"

"Just shut up, Jin, and keep looking!"

"You shut up and keep looking!"

"You!"

"You first!"

"I told you first!"

"Feh!"

"Hmph!"

Giving one another fierce glares, Touya and Jin turned back to their research as Shizuru tried her best to ignore them. It was amazing how similar they were to Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Meanwhile, Kurama was rummaging through the kitchen cabinets for something they could all eat when the doorbell suddenly rang. Kurama paused in his searching, wondering whom it might be. Shishi, Chuu, and Suzuka? Koenma? Yusuke and friends? Or, perhaps, rabid stalker fangirls? A random ferry girl coming to take someone's soul?

...Okay, so maybe that one wasn't very likely, since ferry girls didn't ring doorbells to collect their souls, but it was a possibility! Kurama never ruled out the unlikely, lest he be shocked to death and then have the ferry girl come take his soul, thus proving the unlikely chance quite possible. See how that worked out? Never doubt a fox's reasoning!

Kurama walked silently to the front door and looked into the peephole, in case it was fangirls... or worse, fanboys. Kurama didn't need another Karasu in his life! But, to his relief, it was only Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yukina, and Keiko.

They were, no doubt, looking for Touya so they could get revenge for Hiei, since Botan supposedly cheated on him with Touya. A noble cause, yet it was unneeded. Touya had done nothing wrong, and even if he had, he was already punished enough since Yukina knew about his 'date'.

The fox thought about what to do. Would they cause more trouble inside or outside? While it would be fun to see them react to the three unconscious chibis, it would be unfair to unleash a vengeful Keiko on innocent Touya.

The doorbell rang again, and Keiko yelled, "Open up Kurama! We know you're there! Kuwabara can sense your ki, kitsune no baka!"

Sighing, Kurama figured that, what the heck, he might as well let them in. If not, they would most likely break down the front door. He opened the front door a few inches, stopping it from opening further with his body, and asked, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

* * *

After they had left the mall, Yusuke and Keiko had gone straight to the park to find Kuwabara and Yukina. Once they met up with them, Keiko and Yusuke quickly updated the other two on the recent events.

Kuwabara's reaction to Botan cheating on Hiei was similar to Keiko's, but what Yukina felt about the matter was a mystery. The quiet apparition offered no opinion on the matter other than a softly uttered, "Oh my, poor oniisan..." But Keiko was sure Yukina felt just as strongly as the others, just too timid to act angry. After all, it was her brother that was being double-crossed, so she had every right to be angry.

After a quick discussion, the four decided to find Touya and get revenge. Of course, Keiko would have preferred to go after Botan, but Yusuke reminded her that Hiei had probably taken care of that, and Kuwabara refused to do anything to a girl. They had gone to the mall, but found that the 'amusing circus', as the ningen spectators called the demons, had left. With nowhere else to go, they decided to head to Kurama's house.

Of course, they had no idea where everyone was. Keiko and Yusuke had seen Hiei and Botan walk away somewhere, and they had last seen Kurama, Shizuru, Touya, and Touya's companions at the mall. In fact, the four were pretty clueless as to what was really going on. They still thought that Botan had cheated on Hiei with Touya after dating Hiei for only a day!

So there the four were, walking towards Kurama's house- Keiko still angry that she didn't have the chance to yell at Botan, Yusuke and Kuwabara ready to fight with Touya to defend Hiei's honor, and Yukina just walking along, seemingly clueless as she smiled sweetly at the thought of her brother dating anyone.

But she was anything but clueless. After all, she had figured out that Hiei was her brother all by herself, and nobody related to Hiei could be very idiotic!

Like Shizuru, she also knew there was something strange going on involving Koenma, Botan, Hiei, and now Touya too. Her brother wouldn't just decide he loved Botan all of a sudden, and Botan wouldn't just go off on a date with Touya. But, being her sweet natured self, Yukina kept quiet because she didn't want to meddle in her brother's affairs.

So when they arrived and Keiko rang the doorbell impatiently, Yukina did nothing to interfere. It was pointless to try to change the other three's minds since they were all so stubborn, and Yukina felt that there was no need unless things turned violent. Then, Yukina would do everything she could to stop others from getting hurt. She was a healer, and hated to see any living things being hurt purposely.

Nobody answered the door for a while, and Keiko looked at Kuwabara expectantly. "Well? Are they there or not?"

Kuwabara nodded. "Yup, I can sense Kurama's ki, and Touya, Jin, Rinku, and my sister too. And... two others, but I dunno what they are. They sort of feel like Botan and Hiei, but kinda different... I dunno, it's strange guys."

Satisfied with his answer, Keiko rang the doorbell and yelled, "Open up Kurama! We know you're there! Kuwabara can sense your ki, kitsune no baka!"

The door opened a few inches, and Kurama peeked out. "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"We want to see Touya!"

"I'm sorry, but Touya is busy at the moment."

"Too bad! This is urgent!"

"Yeah, we have to get revenge for Hiei!" Kuwabara blurted.

"Baka! Don't tell him that! Then we'll never get to Touya!" Yusuke said.

"I highly doubt Hiei needs anybody to get revenge for him, much less three humans that, in my opinion, should mind their own business," Kurama replied in a cold tone, pleasantries done with. Despite his politeness, he was telling the four to get lost.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Kurama. I thought you would be honorable enough to try and get revenge for Hiei's betrayal. Botan cheated on him, you know! With Touya, of all people!"

"Yeah, and Touya's an ICE demon! Any respectable fire demon would consider that a huge insult!"

Kurama resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Bakas! They still believed that Botan cheated on Hiei! "And why do you assume that Touya and Botan were even on a date? What evidence do you have?"

"Yusuke saw them! Together! At the mall ON A DATE!"

"Seeing is believing!"

"If that's so, then I must believe that you three are fools," Kurama replied, tired of their meaningless chatter. He stepped back into his house and slammed the door shut, locking it into place.

Kurama walked swiftly upstairs to his bedroom and told the others, "We're going to have to eat dinner later. Keiko and the other three were at the door just now, demanding to see Touya. Apparently they wanted to revenge Hiei."

Touya paled slightly at the mention of Keiko wanting vengeance, remembering how hard she slapped him earlier. "Did they leave?"

"Probably not, which is why we should escape while we have to chance. Jin, do you think you can fly us safely out of here with your power?"

Standing up and stretching, Jin grinned and nodded. "Of course I can! I _am_ the Wind Master!"

Shizuru could feel Jin's ki rise dramatically, and his ears began transforming into pointy elf-like ears. She smiled slightly at how easily the idea of flying out of a two-story building excited the demon.

"Where are we going to go?"

"How about the hotel Jin and I are staying at?" suggested Touya.

"Do Keiko and the others know where it is?" asked Kurama.

"No, they shouldn't be able to find it."

"Okay then, let's go there."

Everyone helped put away Kurama's books they had been searching through. When that task was completed, everyone except the Wind Master grabbed a chibi and proceeded to the bedroom window. Jin opened it for them and began flying them out one by one with his wind power.

Before it was his turn to go, Kurama left a seed in his bedroom and quickly fed his ki to it, willing it to grow. When it had already become a small plant, ready to guard against intruders, Kurama continued following the others.

* * *

To anybody concerned about Keiko's behavior: You may be wondering why she is so concerned about revenge for Hiei and why she doesn't realize the truth about Touya and Botan's 'date'. Mainly it's because in chapter 8, after Yusuke told Keiko and the others that Hiei and Botan were supposedly in love, Keiko accused Hiei of tricking Botan. At one point, she said to Hiei, "What did you do to Botan! You stupid jerk! You hypnotized her, or seduced her, or... or something! You're blackmailing her aren't you? TELL ME!"

Afterward, because Keiko believes Botan cheated on Hiei, she felt guilty for accusing him when Botan was the one who was unfaithful. Keiko's guilt is blinding her from the logical view of things. Phew! I hope that made sense to everyone. This ficcy can get kind of confusing because so many characters have so many different point of views on what really happened between Hiei and Botan and whoever else.


	16. The Chibis’ Awakening

GAH! I haven't updated in so long! Sorry people, but I was busy! First school, then my birthday [happy birthday to me!], then my dad's birthday [happy birthday to him!], then a bunch of homework, then I started reading Harry Potter fanfics and kinda forgot to write... ARGH! WHEN WILL IT END?! Not to mention the fact that I've also been working on about three other stories at the same time... Heheh I get distracted a lot.

In response to **blue fox demon**: Sorry, no Shizuru/Jin. This is strictly Shizuru/Koenma, due to the reviewer's votes in earlier chapters. However, if you REALLY, REALLY want me to, I suppose I could IMPLY Shizuru/Jin, or put them in an awkward situation.... I don't know. But if you'd like to see them together in a scene or two, review and say so! And that goes for anyone else who shares the same opinion.

**To ****anyone ticked off by Keiko**: I realize that she has been acting a bit annoying, but that WILL change shortly! Within a few chapters, everyone will find out that Touya and Botan were not on a date and things will be straightened out. But she won't be much of a bother until then anyway, for reasons you will find out in this chappie!

**Last Chapter...**

_Everyone helped put away Kurama's books they had been searching through. When that task was completed, everyone except the Wind Master grabbed a chibi and proceeded to the bedroom window. Jin opened it for them and began flying them out one by one with his wind power.  
Before it was his turn to go, Kurama left a seed in his bedroom and quickly fed his ki to it, willing it to grow. When it had already become a small plant, ready to guard against intruders, Kurama continued following the others._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 16: The Chibis' Awakening**

As Jin and the others escaped, Keiko and company were still at the front door.

"So, uh... What do we do now?" Yusuke glanced at Keiko, since she seemed to be leading them. Keiko was just staring straight ahead at the door Kurama slammed in their faces, twitching faintly.

Kuwabara felt Jin and the others' ki leave, and said, "Uh, guys? I don't think they're there any more..."

"...Did he just... call us foolish... and SHUT THE DOOR IN OUR FACES?!" Keiko asked, still staring at the door.

"Uh... kinda..."

"Guys?! Did you hear me?" Kuwabara asked after being ignored.

Keiko's eyes hardened into a glare and her mouth formed a tight line. Recognizing the signs of an angry Keiko, Yusuke backed away instinctively and Kuwabara pulled Yukina close to him in a protective manner.

"Now, now, Keiko... Let's not get mad..."

"Yusuke?" Keiko asked almost too calmly- almost like the calm before a storm. Uh-oh!

"...Yes...?" Yusuke answered tentatively.

"Break the &*@#^&@* door down! NOW!"

"But... THEY AREN'T EVEN THERE!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Yes they are, you baka!  You said so yourself!"

"But that was before they left! Duh!"

"Shut up Kuwabara! Yusuke, I told you to break the door down!! NOW!" Keiko ordered.

Yusuke nodded to show his obedience. He had seen this side of Keiko too many times to not know that this wasn't the time to fool around. He stepped in front of the door, and with a swift kick aided by his ki, knocked down the door.

A furious Keiko stormed inside, Yusuke following her close behind, and behind him Kuwabara walked beside Yukina, his hand holding hers for comfort. They swept through the empty house, searching high and low for any sign of Kurama and the others. All the while, Kuwabara grumbled to Yukina about how this was pointless and nobody but his sweet Yukina-chan listens to him.

After they had thoroughly searched downstairs, they swept upstairs and continued looking. They checked almost every room unsuccessfully, until the only room left was Kurama's bedroom. The four approached the closed door cautiously, wondering if the fox had set any traps for them. Or at least three of them- Keiko was already turning the doorknob.

"Keiko...?" Yusuke asked.

"What is it?!" Keiko paused and looked at Yusuke.

"I don't think we should go in there..."

"Why not?!"

"Because Kurama's probably got some weird death plant thing in there ready to eat us!"

"Whatever, Yusuke! Kurama would NEVER do that to his friends!"

"Keiko? You DO remember that he was a notorious criminal in his Youko days, don't you?"

"But do YOU remember that he's changed because of his human mother?"

"So? Once a criminal, always a criminal!"

"Hmph! You just can't accept change!" Keiko glared at Yusuke. "Or is it because you're JEALOUS of him? He does have an awful lot more fangirls than you..."

"NANI?! I don't even pay attention to that stuff!"

Kuwabara snickered. "You are SO jealous!"

"Shut up Kuwabara! At least I have fangirls, unlike YOU!"

"I do too have fangirls! Here's one of them!" Kuwabara pointed at Yukina, who avoided his loving gaze. She was NOT a Kuwabara fangirl, thank you very much!

"Excuse me for interrupting, CHILDREN, but if we may continue...?!" Keiko sighed irritably and proceeded to open the bedroom door. Yusuke looked nervously at the door as it swung open, revealing... an empty bedroom.

"See, Yusuke? No death plant here!"

Kuwabara looked at the empty room. "Guys, there's nobody here! We've already searched the entire house, and as I said before- even though you two IGNORED me- I don't feel their ki nearby."

Keiko replied, "Well, let's just check the room to make sure! Maybe they're hiding in the closet or something."

"Didn't you hear me? I CAN'T FEEL THEIR KI NEARBY!" Kuwabara frowned, disliking his warnings being ignored. "They could be getting away right now!"

"Yes, I realize that, but we should stop arguing and just check Kurama's room first! We'll feel especially stupid if we checked everywhere but the bedroom that they were hiding in!"

Ignoring Kuwabara's protests, Keiko walked into the room and began searching for any kind of clue to the missing group's whereabouts. Reluctantly, Yusuke walked in behind her and, cautious to avoid anything suspicious, joined in her search. Kuwabara led Yukina inside and glanced around, already sure that there was nothing to be found.

Kuwabara's eyes landed on the plant Kurama had put in his bedroom earlier. Curiously, he walked towards it and began poking it. Yukina, wary of an unknown plant in Kurama's bedroom, immediately made a hasty retreat towards the door.

The plant was young, and had yet to fully bloom. It looked fairly normal, except that instead of sitting in a pot of soil, it was simply resting on the windowsill (where Kurama had used his ki to make it grow earlier). Kuwabara poked and prodded it mercilessly, until Yusuke noticed him.

"Kuwabara! What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

"Look at this weird plant thing, Urameshi! It's so freaky!"

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Yusuke yelled, catching Keiko's attention. She turned and asked, "Nani?"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"GAH! DON'T TOUCH WEIRD PLANTS THAT BELONG TO KURAMA! DID YOU NOT SEE HIS ROSE WHIP?!"

"Quit yelling Yusuke, and please tell me what you're talking about!" Keiko said.

Yusuke pointed at the plant as Kuwabara backed away slowly. "KuwaBAKA over there was messing with that weird plant!"

"So...?"

"So?! SO?!?! IT'S A PLANT IN KURAMA'S BEDROOM! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT COULD DO!"

"Hmph! Quit being such a baby, Urameshi!" To prove how brave he was, Kuwabara poked the plant again. Yusuke's eyes widened dramatically, and he stared in horror at the plant.

"Quit...touching...it...!" hissed Yusuke.

The plant in question, as if tired of being poked, suddenly began blooming. The petals spread and a strange-smelling gas- almost like an exotic perfume- drifted from the center. The gas spread quickly, and Kuwabara, being the closest, breathed in the most.

"Whoa, this stuff's... so..." His sentence was left incomplete as he fainted- the result of the strange gas. Keiko and Yusuke's eyes widened and they turned to escape, but the gas had already entered their bodies. Soon, they too fainted.

Yukina, having already walked to the doorway, quickly backed out of the room. Shocked, she quickly shut the door and fled downstairs to escape. She couldn't let herself be harmed, since she was the only one who could help the others. Yukina thought briefly about trying to enter the room and heal them, but she wouldn't be able to hold her breath long enough to keep from fainting.

Silently praying that the other three were only unconscious and nothing worse, she quickly ran from Kurama's house to Genkai's temple. Perhaps Genkai could help her find Kurama and stop the plant.  
  
  
  
Jin had successfully aided the others to escape to the hotel, and the chibis were put to rest- Botan and Hiei in the bedroom and Rinku in the living room area so that they could keep an eye on him, in case the hit he received from Jin caused injury. While awaiting the chibis' awakening, the others discussed what to do.

First thing they did was deciding what to do about the crowded hotel room. It had already been bad enough with just Touya and Company, but now with an additional four people, it was extremely crowded. After much discussion and argument, Jin left with Chuu, Shishiwakamaru, and Suzuka to go 'train'. They were most likely going to mess around and scare all of the ningens, Touya had replied, but nonetheless consented to their immediate departure- only after making sure to give them an extra communication mirror Kurama had with him. Touya didn't want to have to spend hours hunting for them.

Once they actually had room to breathe, the three left began on the current problem- what to do with Hiei, Botan, and Rinku. During their discussion, they ordered room service, and continued talking while they ate their dinner. After identifying that the major problem was discovering what exactly happened to Hiei and Botan during their brief meeting with Koenma, Kurama suggested they sneak into Reikai's vast library and research the mysterious 'Joyful Pills'.

Of course, Touya and Shizuru were against it, because they preferred not to snoop about like a common criminal. Kurama quickly explained that they couldn't possibly get it directly from Koenma, who didn't even know anyone had been told of the happenings between him, Botan, and Hiei. The godling didn't want Hiei and Botan to succeed in their testing to prove their love, so it was highly unlikely he would just tell whoever asked the information regarding the pills. This made perfect sense to Touya and Shizuru, who reluctantly agreed to the plan. So, after the chibis awoke, it was decided that Kurama would take Shizuru to the Reikai library and look for information while Touya stayed behind with the chibis.

Shortly after they formed a plan of action, Hiei, apparently awake, ran into the room in obvious shock and discomfort, screaming questions about what happened and why he looked so odd. After Kurama questioned him, they found out Hiei couldn't remember anything other past being in Reikai with Koenma, and that his personality had changed drastically. Hiei was much more loud, impatient, hot-tempered, childish, and, odd as it seems, _innocent_.  
  
  
  
For the second time that day, Botan awoke on the same hotel bed. Her body felt weird, like it was suddenly twice as energetic as usual, and things seemed much taller. She had trouble remembering what exactly happened, and what was going on.

"Oh good, you're awake!"

Botan turned to see Kurama beside the bed. "What happened?"

Kurama quickly explained what had happened before arriving to the hotel. "We've only been here for a few hours, and Hiei woke up ten minutes ago. Rinku's still out, though; Jin must have hit him on the head a bit too hard. Now, what can you remember?"

Botan tried to think back, but the last thing she remembered was being in Reikai. She didn't even recall the Joyful Pills! "Well, not much, I'm afraid."

"That's what I was afraid of. It was the same thing for Hiei." Kurama stood up and walked out of the room, returning moments later with Hiei. "Okay, you two need to think together and tell us what happened between you and Koenma. What are Joyful Pills? Was this yet another test to prove your love? How is it supposed to work?"

But neither chibi was listening. Botan's chibi instincts kicked in, and she stared at Hiei lustfully. Hiei's chibi mind recognized the look and, without a thought about honor or dignity, began backing away. With a chibi version of the Xena battle cry, Botan tackled him and they landed on the floor. Hiei shoved her away and ran behind Kurama for protection.

"GAH! You evil thing! Stay away!" he yelped.

Kurama quickly stifled any laughter trying to escape him, and tried to restrain Botan. All the while Hiei lingered behind him, whimpering in a very out of character manner. The chibi ferry girl squirmed and shrieked loudly. The noise found its way to the others staying in the hotel room, and Shizuru came in to see what was wrong.

"Kurama...?" Shizuru asked tentatively, poking her head into the room. She had to stifle a giggle at the odd sight.

"A little help here would be nice, thank you," replied the fox, busy trying to keep Botan away from Hiei. Botan became frustrated quickly as to why the mean fox wouldn't let her see her lovable fire demon and began to sob hysterically.

Shizuru took pity on poor Kurama, stuck in the middle, and grabbed Botan from him. She comforted the small chibi like a mother would a child. Relieved of one charge, Kurama turned to the other and began to sooth Hiei, who was still slightly frightened of Botan.

After a while, when they were relatively calm, Kurama sat Hiei and Botan beside each other on the hotel bed. Hiei sent the ferry girl suspicious looks, and received loving glances in return. Shizuru sat back and relaxed, letting the fox handle the questions. Kurama asked Hiei and Botan to try and remember what happened. Several minutes passed and nothing came to mind.

Sighing, Kurama said, "Oh well, I wasn't really expecting any outstanding results. Come on, let's go to Touya and see if Rinku's up yet." And with those words, the fox led Shizuru, Hiei, and Botan out of the room.


	17. Lost!

**Last Chapter...**

_Sighing, Kurama said, "Oh well, I wasn't really expecting any outstanding results. Come on, let's go to Touya and see if Rinku's up yet." And with those words, the fox led Shizuru, Hiei, and Botan out of the room._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 17: Lost!**

Hiei, Botan, Shizuru, and Kurama arrived in the living room area just in time to see Rinku wake up. The only authentic chibi there opened his eyes slowly, only to close them again to avoid the bright light. He groaned miserably, and muttered, "Argh, what happened?"

Touya glared down at him on the couch and said, "You are having a hangover."

"Don't tell me Chuu gave me alcohol again!"

"Nope. You were introduced to sugar."

"Uhn..." And with that, Rinku ignored everyone else and tried to sleep once more.

Seeing Rinku had awakened, Kurama announced, "Well, now that everyone's up and about, we should leave for Reikai. The sooner we begin, the sooner we might find something about Joyful Pills at the library!"

Touya looked at him almost desperately. "Wait, you can't leave now! I don't know what to do with these chibis!"

"Look, Touya, obviously I have to go since I can sneak into Reikai and Shizuru has to go to help me search. You have to stay here because this is your hotel room, and if Jin and the others come back, you're the only one of us who can handle them. We've already wasted so much time waiting around here that it's already dark outside, and I'd like to return with valuable information before the sunrise!"

"Besides, didn't Botan say something earlier at the mall about you making a great father? Or grandfather, whatever. Prove you're worthy to raise Yukina's kids!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I DON'T WANT TO MATE WITH THE GIRL- JUST GO ON A SIMPLE DATE WITH HER! Get that through your stubborn heads already!" protested Touya. "Besides, if I even touched Yukina in the wrong way, Hiei would kill me in an instant."

That was, indeed, true. Chibi Hiei was currently glaring at Touya after hearing mentions of Yukina and kids.  "You like my sister...?!"

The growling chibi struck no terror in Touya's heart whatsoever- until he set fire to the hotel curtains. And then Rinku stood up abruptly and ran out of the hotel room, screaming about too much noise and a major headache. To top it off, the sprinkler system came on after the fire was detected, drenching everything.

Using this distraction to escape, Kurama and Shizuru were out of the door. "See you later, Touya! And good luck!"

The demon ignored their departure and tended to more important matters. With just a bit of ki, the Ice Master chilled the fire and the sprinklers, effectively stopping both. However, Hiei wasn't so easily handled.

"Now, now, Hiei, let's go about this calmly, shall we? Yes?" Touya looked at the chibi fire demon, hoping they wouldn't have to resort to fighting each other. In return Hiei gave him an extra deadly death glare.

Touya decided to not take a chance and stop things before Hiei set the whole hotel building on fire. He pulled Botan aside and said, "Botan, remember our deal? I get the bride, and you get me Yukina? Well Shizuru is the bride, so you have to hold up your end of the deal! Go in the other room and try to talk to Hiei. Okay?"

With a wink and an enthusiastic nod, Botan skipped away with Hiei. "Come on, Hiei! Let's go talk in private!" Hiei was unsure of how to act around the odd ferry girl, and allowed her to drag him off.

After waiting for a few seconds for telltale sounds of arguing, and hearing none, Touya decided that Hiei and Botan would be fine alone and left the room to find Rinku. After searching much of the hotel, Touya located Rinku in the lobby. The poor chibi was lounging in a chair with his eyes closed. Approaching him, Touya asked him what was wrong.

"My head hurts, and you people are NOT helping with your arguing! And I want sugar! Now!"

"Rinku, sugar is what got you like this in the first place."

"So?"

"More sugar will make you worse!"

"Your point?"

"No more sugar for you."

"You can't do that to me! You promised me earlier that I could have lots of sugar if I got everyone home from the mall! So pay up!"

"Sorry, I can't do that."

"Then you're a LIAR! And you're dishonorable! And I'll tell Yukina all your secrets if you don't give me sugar!"

"How dare you blackmail me?! ...Hey, how do you know I like Yukina! I never told you!"

"I didn't know, but I sure do now! Hahaha!"

"You sure are acting energetic for someone with a sugar hangover."

"...I need sugar. Soon."

"...Don't tell me...Or else you'll have withdrawal symptoms?"

"Hey don't judge me! At least I'm not addicted to ice cream, unlike someone!"

"I'm not addicted to ice cream, you idiot! That's Jin!"

"...Oh. I still want sugar."

"Fine, you'll get your sugar if you go back to the hotel."

"Okay!"

Touya rolled his eyes as Rinku hopped out of the chair and practically skipped back to the room. If he didn't know better, he would've said Rinku was faking his illness to get more sugar.  
  
  
  
Kurama and Shizuru had reached Reikai soon after leaving Ningenkai, and were currently in search of a way into the palace. They couldn't just walk in through the front doors and announce their presence to Koenma, or else they would never be able to reach the library. If anything, Koenma would find out they were trying to help Hiei and Botan and then kick them out.

Instead they had to sneak in, much like Kurama, Hiei, and Goki had when stealing the three precious items from Reikai. Minutes had already passed, and they had yet to find a side door.

"Kurama!" Shizuru whispered. "Don't you know where the door is? Has your memory failed you already?"

"The door should be close, but it may have been moved. And my memory is probably better than yours."

"Moved? Why would they do that? Some sort of security measure?"

"Most likely. Odd that we found no guards or force fields or traps, yet they feel the need to move doors around occasionally."

"The more I learn about the gods, the more idiotic they sound. Do they really believe they're so powerful that nobody can intrude?"

"They can be a bit illogical at times. I suppose that since Meikai is no longer a threat, the gods feel safe."

The pair continued on in silence until they finally found a door. Shizuru felt no wards guarding it, so Kurama pulled out a skeleton key and unlocked the door. As they entered, Shizuru asked, "Did you steal that key?"

"...Maybe..." Kurama said as he looked around. They were standing in a small, unrecognizable hallway.

After a few minutes of silence, Shizuru asked, "Do you know where we're going?"

"No, do you?"

"Of course not! I've never broken into the Reikai palace before!"

Kurama paused, thinking back to the last time he broke into the palace. "Well if I could just figure out where we were now, then maybe I could get us to the library..."

"...We're lost?!"

"Pretty much."

"Great..."


	18. Chibi Emotions

**Last Chapter...**

_Kurama paused, thinking back to the last time he broke into the palace. "Well if I could just figure out where we were now, then maybe I could get us to the library..."_

_"...We're lost?!"_

_"Pretty much."_

_"Great..."_

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 18: Chibi Emotions**

After being told to hold up her end of the deal with Touya, Botan dragged Hiei, who offered no resistance, into the hotel bedroom. The chibi ferry girl shut the door behind them, and made herself comfortable on the bed, ready to convince Hiei to let Touya date Yukina. Hiei stood close to the door, in case he needed to make a quick get away. 

"Okay, Hiei, you can't get mad if Touya dates your sister!"

Hiei glared at her. "Baka! I'll do what I want!"

"No, you won't, because I made a deal with Touya. If he found a bride, which he did, you had to let him date Yukina! Well he found Shizuru, so you have to hold up your end of the deal!"

"What?! I never promised that!"

"Yeah you did! Um... well, you just don't remember, that's all..." Botan lied terribly. It was she who made the promise for Hiei at the mall, and Hiei didn't even know about it until now.

"You're lying."

"...Um..." Botan stood up and began pacing, thinking frantically of what to say. "Well... Touya's a great guy and he'll make your sister happy and, uh... if you don't let Touya date Yukina, then Kuwabara will get her instead!"

Hiei hissed angrily at this ridiculous notion, and Botan brightened upon realizing she'd found his weak spot.

"Yup, Yukina's such a beautiful apparition- you know someone's gonna seduce her! And it's best that it's someone who loves her for being her, not just for her looks. So that leaves you with either Kuwabara or Touya. Kuwabara is a human, which makes him weaker than most youkai and his lifespan much shorter. Just imagine if they had children! They would be half-breeds! Do you want that fate for your future nieces and nephews?"

Botan stopped her pacing and stood directly in front of Hiei, maintaining eye contact with him. "And Kuwabara wouldn't be able to protect them from hunters after hanyou blood, and Yukina would outlive him by centuries, giving her nearly an eternity to mourn his death, not to mention their half-breed kids!"

Hiei scowled sourly, and growled, "You think I didn't already realize this?! This is why I don't want any ningen to court her! But what if it's already too late, and she's already fallen for that baka ningen? What then?"

"But it's not too late! If you get your sister to like Touya, then that solves all your problems! He'll live as long as she will, and their kids will be nice, normal ice demons! And, if we're lucky, the Koorime won't be mad either since he's not a fire demon and all."

"I know that. Tell me something new for once, baka."

"Then why won't you let them date?! You're not making sense!"

"Because he doesn't deserve her! She's too good for him! He's killed demons as a Shinobi, and I don't want Yukina targeted by Touya's enemies!"

"But she'll have everyone to protect her. Touya, you, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Keiko, Shizuru, even Koenma, and not to mention all of Touya's friends are more than willing to help her! And what's this about her being too good for him? Like she's not too good for you- the brother who refused to tell her the truth for years and years and left her worried and anxious!"

"I did that to protect her!"

"Oh, whatever! You were scared that she'd reject you, or even worse, love you back! Admit it- you were completely scared to have someone love you!"

"I was not!"

"Hmph! Right..." Botan rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hips. "Okay, Hiei, I'm giving you one chance. Let Touya and Yukina date, or I'll kiss you! On the lips! In front of other people!"

Chibi instincts kicked in, making Hiei shriek, "Ewww! Cooties!" He glowered at Botan. "...Fine. I'll let them go on that stupid group date Kurama told us about earlier for Shizuru and Koenma, on two conditions. One, I go along with them, and two, you never ever kiss me again!"

"Alrighty then, but only if I'm your date!"

"Deal!"

Botan and Hiei shook hands to make it official. As soon as that was done, Botan squealed and grabbed Hiei's hand, dragging him along as she skipped around the room.

"We're going on a date! We're going on a date!" she said in a singsong voice, giggling madly. Hiei growled and pulled his hand away.

"It's just a stupid date! Baka onna!"

"But it's our first date as a couple!"

"Who said we're a couple?!"

"I did, silly!" Botan giggled and hugged Hiei, who quickly pulled away from her.

"We are not a couple! I'm only doing this because I promised to help you with Koenma, okay?! None of this is real! And don't hug me, or I swear I'll hurt you!"

Botan stared at him with big, watery eyes. "But I thought you said you LOVED ME!!!!!!!"

"I said no such thing!"

"But..."

"I do not like you, and I never will! Quit thinking otherwise!"

"Well... I HATE YOU THEN!" Botan's poor fragile chibi feelings went on overload, having just went from elation to rejection, and the unfortunate girl ran out of the room, tears welling up in her eyes.

Hiei almost felt bad, but stopped any feelings of pity once he reminded himself that this was all her fault. If it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have been pulled into this mess with Koenma, Joyful Pills, and Yukina dating Touya.

...But, without her, his life would've been much more boring. Filled with fighting and sleeping in trees. Perhaps this experience was a nice vacation from the ordinary.

Oh, what was he thinking?! He hated this! Every last moment of it! She was loud and annoying and giggled too much! Hiei hated her and everything she was! He should've just let her marry Koenma, so Hiei could get on with his life! It had only been a day, and Hiei was already sick of her!

Or was he? Hiei didn't know; he wasn't the local love connoisseur, and the only person in his life he'd ever loved was Yukina.

With a sigh, Hiei left the room as well to go after Botan. He couldn't just let her leave like that, with their conversation unfinished. When he reached the living room, he discovered that nobody was there- Botan had left the hotel room. He also noticed everything was damp from the sprinklers going off earlier. Feeling nicer than usual, Hiei decided to be nice for once and, with a burst of ki, instantly heated the water until it evaporated. Then, with a groan, Hiei walked out the front door. Why did that baka ferry girl have to make everything so difficult?  
  
  
  
As Rinku left the hotel lobby, Touya followed him shortly behind. When they reached the correct floor, they passed Hiei in the hallway heading in the opposite direction. Rinku ignored him, and Touya let him be, figuring Hiei could take care of himself. Upon reaching the hotel room, Rinku threw himself on the couch and stared Touya expectantly, waiting for his sugar.

"Rinku, not now!"

"But you said you'd give me sugar when we got to the hotel room!"

"Well, I will eventually. Just not now. It's late and you'll stay up all night if you have another sugar high."

"@#$%^&!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Nyah! Make me!"

And with that, Rinku slowly stomped towards the bedroom, claiming it as his for the night. Touya, left with only a couch to sleep on, sat down moodily and grabbed his book on a nearby table.

For quite some time, Touya read silently while Rinku was doing who-knows-what in the other room. Finally, Touya felt tired, and decided to sleep. Praying that Rinku wouldn't sneak out or do something equally stupid, he lay down and closed his eyes, falling asleep soon after.  
  
   
  


Yukina had left Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara unconscious at Kurama's house to try and find Genkai, hoping that she would be able to help. Using her demonic speed, which was faster than a ningen but nowhere close to her brother, Yukina was able to reach Genkai's temple fairly quickly just as the sun was setting. When she got there, she had to search for Genkai, and found the woman inside the temple.

"Genkai! I need your help!" Yukina called. Genkai looked at her warmly, and asked what she needed. Yukina quickly explained everything, starting with what had happened the night before when Botan went missing. Of course, she didn't know the whole story, but told Genkai what she knew nonetheless.

Genkai shook her head sadly. "Those dimwit friends of yours will kill us all! Do you have any idea what is going on between Hiei, Botan, and Koenma?"

"No, and I don't think I want to know. It's not my business, anyway."

Smiling, the old woman said, "You're smarter than all of them! It's best to leave your brother's affairs alone. Well, I suppose we had better go find Kurama and get an antidote for those three unconscious fools." Genkai glanced at the sky, which was nearly dark now, and added, "It's already nighttime, though, so why don't we look for them in the morning? I'm sure those dimwits will be fine! You can stay here until morning."

"Well, if you're sure they'll be alright, I guess I can stay." Yukina followed Genkai into the temple, and prepared to stay the night.


	19. Koenma Tells All

To **ProtoBlues**: True, chibi doesn't necessarily mean little kid, but you must agree that it's so much more fun this way! To me, chibis seem like so much more fun that realistic anime characters, so I believe that when writing about chibis, they should have fun and do weird things because, come on, think about it- don't chibis just look freaking weird to you?! They're faces and heads are so out of proportion... it's unnatural! Well if they have unnatural bodies, why not unnatural personalities as well? And if they didn't act like this, I don't think the plot would be going anywhere... Hiei and Botan are very stubborn! Without 'chibi instincts' to get in the way, then well this story would be terribly boring! You don't want that, do you? Of course not!

**Last Chapter...**

_Genkai shook her head sadly. "Those dimwit friends of yours will kill us all! Do you have any idea what is going on between Hiei, Botan, and Koenma?"_

_"No, and I don't think I want to know. It's not my business, anyway."_

_Smiling, the old woman said, "You're smarter than all of them! It's best to leave your brother's affairs alone. Well, I suppose we had better go find Kurama and get an antidote for those three unconscious fools." Genkai glanced at the sky, which was nearly dark now, and added, "It's already nighttime, though, so why don't we look for them in the morning? I'm sure those dimwits will be fine! You can stay here until morning."_

_"Well, if you're sure they'll be alright, I guess I can stay." Yukina followed Genkai into the temple, and prepared to stay the night._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 19: Koenma Tells All**

As everyone prepared for bed, Shizuru and Kurama were still in Reikai. Shizuru was slightly angry that Kurama led them there without a thought of where to go next.

"What do you mean we're lost? Aren't you supposed to be the wise old fox?"

"We'll just have to wait for a guard to come by."

"You mean we have to force information out of a Reikai worker?!"

"Precisely," Kurama smiled at her. "I'm glad you catch on so easily."

"Ugh, we snuck in here through a side door, in search of information from the library, and now we have to ask for directions? If all of your breaking and entering robberies went this bad as Youko, how did you manage to survive?"

"I usually plan these things out, but we had to leave today so I had no time to dig up any maps I may have had."

"You had maps of the gods' palace?"

"Perhaps, but we don't have them now, so no use fretting. In the meantime, we should keep ourselves occupied. There may not be a guard for another hour or so."

"Alright, then." Shizuru glanced at Kurama. "Let's talk about this group date thing. You don't have a date, and I don't want to date Koenma. Here's an idea: you date Koenma! Solves two problems in one!"

"Sorry, but I don't date _male_ baby gods. I don't want to date at all!"

"Neither do I!"

"Then how did we get ourselves into this mess?"

"Touya."

"And Botan."

"And Hiei!"

"And Koenma!"

"They forced us into this, trying to fix their love lives!"

"Then let's go on the date like planned, and strike back when they least expect it!"

"Fine then, fox. One problem: you still need a date!"

"Well I can't just take an everyday fangirl! She'll get torn apart by the other fangirls!"

"You can't take me, obviously."

"Or Botan or Yukina."

"Genkai?"

"No!"

"Keiko?"

Kurama seemed to be considering the possibility. "That might work..."

"You're going to take Keiko? Yusuke will get mad."

"So? We'll just be going as friends. He should understand that."

"Yusuke? You're kidding me, right? The guy who thought Touya and Botan were on a date together?"

"Keiko will make him understand. She always manages to get through to him somehow."

Their conversation continued for nearly an hour, until they were nearly frantic with impatience and boredom. Kurama looked out of the small hallway they were standing in, checking for any guards. When he found none he looked at Shizuru and said, "Maybe we should come up with a different plan. The guards aren't going to come here."

"Agreed. What's the plan, then?"

"Wander around until we find something?"

"We're going to get even more lost..."

"Oh just come on!"

Kurama led Shizuru out of the hallway, turned left, and began walking. They walked past several closed doors and a few portraits of gods upon the wall, but they didn't come across anybody to ask for directions. After a few minutes, Kurama halted abruptly, causing Shizuru to nearly crash into him.

Shizuru looked at him, wondering what was wrong. Kurama was staring at something on the wall a few feet in front of them, and she followed his gaze to... a visitor's map. It had every room, hall, and secret passageway of Reikai palace on it, and even a little 'you are here' sign.

After a few moments of gaping openly in wonderment, Shizuru said, "Well that certainly would have helped an hour ago."

"Oh the irony... Waiting for a guard to come, only to find a MAP a few minutes later!" Kurama sweat dropped at their foolishness. "The gods are idiotic. Any lowlife thief could waltz in here and have a look at that map and be able to go anywhere they please without even being detected. It was nothing like this when I came here with Hiei and Goki."

Using the map, they discovered they were only a few halls away from the library. Walking quickly, they arrived within a few minutes and, after taking a few moments to gaze in awe at the massive collection of books, began searching for information about Joyful Pills.

Shizuru began looking through the shelves nearest to the door they had entered. Only minutes passed before she felt someone's ki approach just outside the door, signaling his or her arrival. Alarmed, she stopped her search and went to tell Kurama, who was looking at books a few shelves away.

"Someone's coming!" she announced.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know! Go look!"

Kurama paused in his search and peered around the bookshelf to the library door. Shizuru tried to see around him, but couldn't without stepping in front of him, so she asked, "Who is it?"

"Koenma!"

* * *

  
  
After leaving the hotel room, Botan fled past various streets and buildings and people without a thought about them in a storm of tears that blurred her eyesight. In her chibi state, her emotions were fragile and subject to great change in only a few seconds. Going from extreme happiness to sadness as quickly as she had, it was no wonder her heart was confused and frantic for reassurance of something, no doubt destroying dozens of flowers with the well known 'he loves me, he loves me not' routine.

Botan's mind was too busy trying to calm her broken heart, so her body was left all alone to be steered by autopilot. This autopilot embedded in all beings has an excellent memory and a talent to surprise, so relying on it will take you to unexpectedly familiar places. Sure enough that was what happened to the ferry girl. After running for quite a while, then finally walking when she became tired, autopilot had steered her feet to a park.

Coincidentally, this park was the very same park that this entire story began in.

The stressed chibi didn't notice this at all and she stopped in front of a random tree, her body still on autopilot. And, strangely enough, it was the very same tree that she attacked with her oar (and the same tree that broke her oar) the first time she came to the park. So, while her mind was still conferring with her heart, autopilot remembered the tree and told her body to begin the attack.

Botan's metal baseball bat appeared and she began channeling her anger and bitterness through it by hitting the poor tree. The tree must have done something very bad in its past life to deserve yet another attack from the ferry girl. Who knows? Perhaps it used to be an evil demon that was reincarnated as a tree just to serve the role as a solitary punching bag for one very frustrated (currently chibi) ferry girl. Let this be a lesson to all of the evil demons out there (Hiei, are you listening?).

However, regardless of its past life, the tree was still being hit by a metal baseball bat (and metal vs. wood isn't much of a comparison). Fortunately, autopilot must have sensed the tree's despair, because it suddenly urged Botan's mindless body to hit the metal baseball bat a little bit too hard...

Miraculously, the metal baseball bat broke in half, leaving her with a broken bat and a broken oar. Sheesh, that must be one tough tree.

Botan's mind and heart were still busy with her unsteady emotions, but her body seemed to develop a mind of its own (called autopilot!). She flung the broken weapon to the ground angrily and screamed out loud- a heart-stopping, glass shattering scream of pure fury!

Does anyone else sense déjà vu?

Autopilot does, because autopilot is an expert at creating a sense of déjà vu. It must come with the good memory.

Hiei does too because he arrived just in time to witness Botan's display of anger. (He has a good memory too.)

"Baka onna! What the heck are you doing?!" Hiei asked.

Botan's mind, heart, and body paused for a second, startled to hear his voice. Autopilot, sensing that it wasn't needed any more, withdrew from its position of ruling Botan's body and went back to wherever autopilot resides in our bodies.

"I _was_ hitting a tree, but now I'm just crying. Got a problem with it?" Botan finally said and she glared at Hiei, though it presented an odd image with tears running down her face.

"Baka, what's your problem?! You ran off in the middle of our conversation, and at night too! Couldn't you have at least waited until dawn?"

Botan sniffled, but didn't bother to reply. Hiei was the one who hurt her feelings, and he would have to apologize before she said anything else.

"Don't give me the silent treatment, onna. I had to use my Jagan just to track you, and you're lucky I went after you at all! I could have just left you for the hentai kidnappers that are out here this time of day!" Hiei exclaimed. He was much more expressive in his chibi state. "At least smile or something. You look creepy like that, and it's giving me the oddest sense of déjà vu. Didn't you do this right after Koenma proposed and I found you at a park? This park, in fact."

There was a moment of silence in which Botan sniffled and Hiei glared. Nobody seemed willing to be the first to say something.

Then there was another moment of silence in which Botan sniffled and dried her tears, and Hiei glared and frowned.

"..." said Botan with a sniffle.

"...!" said Hiei with a glare.

A random cricket chirped. The wind blew a nice little tune of rustling sounds through the grass. Hearts were set to pause, minds were frozen, and autopilot did absolutely nothing. Time seemed to stand still for the silent, stubborn pair until...

_FWOMP!_

A Frisbee hit Hiei in the head! The stunned chibi fell to the ground, and Botan stared in shock.

"GAH! I am so, so, so sorry!" A teenaged girl ran towards them with a guilty look on her face. She was short, with spiky black hair and oddly red hued eyes. A teenaged boy came running soon after her. He was taller than her, with blue hair and exotic pink eyes.

Hmmm, this sounds familiar... Could it be? Is autopilot at work again?

"Geez, koibito, you're so clumsy! You need to watch where you aim that!" the Botan-ish boy said.

"I know, I know, I'm sooooo sorry! Are you alright, little boy?" The Hiei-ish girl helped Hiei stand up and grabbed the Frisbee.

"I'm truly sorry, chibis. My girlfriend is such a klutz sometimes!" The teen sighed and put an arm around the girl, who was hugging the Frisbee lest it fly away and hit Hiei again. "She's lucky I'm around to help her, or else she might just destroy the whole city!"

"I'm not that bad! Sure, I may trip sometimes and my aim's not the best, but at least I have a pleasant personality! You have such a short temper!" the girl replied as the couple began walking away.

"A body as nice as mine has no need for a nice personality! You, on the other hand..." The couple continued their playful banter as they walked out of sight.

Botan stared after them with starry eyes. Once Hiei was done rubbing his head and trying to regain his awareness, he noticed Botan's odd look. Their silent contest done with, he asked, "What's wrong with you, onna?"

"I've been inspired!" Botan smiled happily and giggled. "We're gonna end up just like them someday! I know we are!"

"You mean, we're going to switch genders?!" Hiei asked, horrified at the very thought.

"No-"

"You're going to become even klutzier than normal?!"

"That's not-"

"Or do you mean that I'm going to become nice and start calling you," Hiei paused to shudder in disgust, "koibito?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant! You'll be nice, I'll be nice, our arguments will be playful and loving, and we'll all live happily ever after!" Botan sighed dreamily, suddenly becoming happy again even though she had been in tears only minutes before. "And maybe we'll even have children, and then we'll get to see them grow up and raise grandchildren, then great-grandchildren... Oh I can hardly wait! Let's you and I mate right away!"

"...!" Hiei stared at her in shock.

Botan suddenly realized how that sounded and blushed. "Err... um I meant... I'm just excited that I might have children someday soon, that's all..."

After a rather long silence, Hiei finally muttered, "I'd rather not have children at all. They're too troublesome and noisy."

"You don't want children?! Why not?! They're cute and adorable and fun! Children are our future! Without them, the next generation would be no more because they ARE the next generation! Children make the world go round! They provide kidnappers with kids to kidnap! You wouldn't be alive if you hadn't once been a child yourself! Not a very happy or normal child, but still a child nonetheless. Was the robbing of your happy childhood so painful that you can't bear to even have children for fear that they will have the same unhappy life you did?" Botan rambled.

"...huh?" Hiei became lost after the mentioning of kidnappers kidnapping kids.

"You have to have children! That's the whole point of life! You're brought into the world, you're raised, you bring children into the world, you raise your children, and then you die! That's the whole story of life!"

"I thought the whole point of life was to be born, to learn to fight, to fight your enemies, and then die when you forget you learned how to fight your enemies."

"...You had a very disturbing childhood, didn't you?"

".........I'd rather not answer that..."

"..."

"..."

And so begins the next round of silence. Oh, where's a Frisbee when you need one? Or at least autopilot!

* * *

  
  
"Koenma? What's he doing here?" Shizuru wondered out loud. It was past time to go to bed, so shouldn't toddler gods be asleep by now?

"I don't know. There's only one way to find out," Kurama answered truthfully. The fox continued watching Koenma from behind a bookshelf as Shizuru waited anxiously for him to inform her.

Koenma had already been in bed, but had trouble sleeping. He decided to take a walk down to the library, a great place for a bit of peace and privacy. After entering, the godling went to a table and sat down, laying his head on his arms. His chibi body was tired, so why couldn't he just sleep?!

"I'm going to go get him, and bring him back here. You stay here," Kurama whispered. Shizuru nodded, and Kurama continued to watch the godling silently for a few more moments. Then, once he was sure Koenma was unaware of his presence, he darted from his cover behind the bookcase and walked directly behind Koenma. In one swift movement, the fox caught the toddler in a headlock and forced him out of his seat and back towards Shizuru.

"ACK! Lemme go!" Koenma, thoroughly surprised, screamed and shouted until Shizuru put a hand over his mouth to quiet him.

"Be quiet! We have to talk to you!"

Koenma was held in midair by his neck because of his height (or rather, lack of it), and he couldn't see them very easily. He glanced up at Shizuru, who towered over him, and said, "Shizuru! What in Reikai are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to help Hiei and Botan! Now tell us about those Joyful Pills!"

"How do you know about those? Who's holding me, Hiei? Botan?! Are you here too?!" Koenma shouted, wondering if Botan might step out from behind a bookshelf.

"Of course I'm not Hiei, baka. You turned Hiei into a chibi!" Kurama replied.

"Kurama?!"

"Yes, it's me. We know everything about what happened between you, Hiei, and Botan."

"Everything?" Koenma asked fearfully. He didn't want anyone to know about this! It was so embarrassing for a god to be turned down by a ferry girl!

"Yes, everything since your engagement to Botan."

"Who else knows? How did you even find out?!"

"Hiei and Botan told me, and Hiei and I told Shizuru," replied Kurama. "Touya and Jin know too. I think that's pretty much it, though I doubt they'll be the last ones told."

"Now, Koenma, tell us about Joyful Pills."

Koenma, in no position to argue, sighed. "Well, you see... There is no such thing as Joyful Pills. I made that up so Hiei and Botan wouldn't be able to find information about the cure, since the it should be easily obtained if they truly love each other..."

"You mean we've spent hours searching for something nonexistent?!"

"So what is the cure? And what did you give them?"

"The pills I gave them were simply chibifying pills with a love spell put on them. The cure is a kiss from the one who loves them."

"So, in other words, if we get Hiei and Botan to kiss each other, they'll go back to normal?"

"Only if they truly love each other will it work. Did it not work yet? Aren't they normal again?"

"No, they're still chibi."

"Why'd you do this, Koenma? Why'd you turn Reikai's best ferry girl and the woman you love into a chibi?"

"So they can prove their love, of course."

"But what if they don't get cured, and they went on that mission you told them about? Wouldn't that be a bit dangerous?"

"I lied about that too... Happy Island didn't get taken over by demons. There really is no mission, and the whole test was if they could cure themselves. But I was hoping to make them happy by letting them stay a week at a god's vacationing spot."

"So if they simply kiss, you'll leave them alone, right?"

"No, first they have to find me a girl willing to marry me."

"We've found someone for you," Kurama said, purposefully not telling it was Shizuru. "We're planning on going on a group date, with you, your date, me, whoever will be my date, Hiei, Botan, Touya, Yukina, and whoever else wants to come along. Maybe you'll be able to get to know this girl better, and, eventually, fall in love."

"Touya and Yukina?!"

"It's not official yet, but Touya plans on asking Yukina out."

"Koenma, I have a question," stated Kurama. "If you love Botan so much, why are you giving her and Hiei a free vacation for an entire week together?"

"I may not love Botan the way I hope I do- it may have just been a crush. You see..." Koenma trailed off.

"Yes...?"

"I was also tricked into eating one of those so-called Joyful Pills a few centuries ago. That's why my original form is my chibi form, even though I should have outgrown it by now. My teenager form is supposed to be my normal self, but it takes too much energy for me to transform all the time. And, as you know, the kiss from your loved one should cure you. Nobody loves me, so there is no cure for me. This is why I want a bride so badly."

Kurama and Shizuru exchanged a look, surprised at his answer. Now that they understood why Koenma wanted someone to love him so badly, perhaps Shizuru would be more willing to go on the date.

"Do you know who gave you the chibifying pill?"

"My father."

"Your father did this to you?!"

"Yes, he wanted me to marry somebody, so this was his plan to make me fall in love. It didn't work very well, as you can see, but there is no other cure to be found. Believe me, I've looked for a very long time."

"This sounds so much like an odd ningen fairy tale. When is the handsome prince and the evil witch going to come in?"

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "Don't be a freak, Kurama."

"You have to admit that this is very similar to a fairy tale, or maybe a soap opera. This whole adventure would make such a wonderful movie!"

"I think I understand why Hiei always calls you a baka kitsune..."

"Shut up! You don't know anything, ningen!"

"Baka kitsune!"

"Sister of Kuwabara!"

"How dare you bring my family ties into this!"

"Um... hello?" Koenma said. "Can I get down now?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Kurama set Koenma down on his feet, and the he and Shizuru smiled sheepishly at the god.

"Well, um, thanks for the information, Koenma."

"And, uh, sorry about the whole headlock thing. It was just a precaution, in case you tried to get us arrested..."

"Oh, it's alright. I understand that you just wanted to help Hiei and Botan. Anyway, it's very late, and we should be going to bed. Would you like to spend the night in a guestroom here?"

"Sure," Shizuru answered, not wanting to turn down the offer to stay at the palace of a god.

They exited the library together, and Shizuru and Kurama were led to their rooms by ogres. Koenma returned to his own bedroom and fell asleep easily. He could finally rest after knowing there was still hope for him, and that there may be a girl out there who could love him.

* * *

  
  
"..." said Botan.

"..." said Hiei.

Their silence was overwhelmingly awkward and tense. Finally, Botan got fed up with it and said, "Okay, enough is enough! This silence is absolutely annoying!"

"Then talk, baka."

"Look, Hiei, I'm sorry that I dragged you into all of this mess. I never imagined we'd get turned chibi because of this!"

"You ought to be sorry..."

"Excuse me? Isn't there something you should be saying too?"

"Fine... I guess I'm..." Hiei mumbled.

"Sorry...?" Botan provided.

"Yeah, that, for doing whatever I did that made you run off earlier."

"Awww, you're so sweet!" Botan grinned at Hiei.

"Oh shut up! It's just because I'm chibi!"

"Well, your apology is accepted."

"..."

"..."

"...?"

"You know, this isn't totally my fault... Koenma started everything the day he proposed to me! He made you go through with all of those tests and turned us both chibi!"

"So? What are you saying, that you want to get revenge?"

"Maybe..." Botan thought about that for a minute. "We could do something when we're on that group date!"

"Perhaps. But what do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. Embarrass him in front of Shizuru?"

"He's a toddler with a binky dating a fully-grown female ningen. I think that will suffice."

"True... Well, let's just figure that out as we go!"

"Hn. Whatever, onna."

"...So, Hiei, are we going to go back to the hotel?"

"What for? It's late and there probably aren't any spare beds to sleep on."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"We could sleep in a tree."

"Like monkeys? No thank you!"

"Hey, I sleep in a tree, and they're very comfortable!" Hiei said with a pout that made Botan giggle.

"I suppose I could...if you'd hold me the entire time!"

"If you don't cuddle with me like I'm your doll!"

"Alright then! But you have to carry me up the tree because I can't climb very well."

Hiei grabbed Botan and jumped to the nearest tree, reaching a sturdy branch high enough to be hidden from the view of ningens. He sat down with his back against the trunk of the tree and allowed Botan to sit next to him. He put his arm around her so she wouldn't fall, as agreed, and she put her head on his shoulder. Botan soon fell asleep, completely comforted by Hiei's presence. The demon, however, didn't sleep at all, since he didn't need nearly as much rest as humans do.

Hiei's sleepless night was spent holding the ferry girl and thinking about how she was affecting his life. The fire demon felt nothing similar to hate or annoyance towards her any more, but rather the opposite. He nearly liked the girl! But only nearly, though, which means love was a long way off.

Earlier, he had felt basically nothing for Botan- neither hate or love, dislike or like. But now, with a chibi mind magnifying his heart's every little thought and wish into passionate feelings that simply overwhelmed his soul... well, now he was even more confused. His heart knew what it felt, and so did the logical part of his brain, but Hiei himself refused to admit it.

Hiei, the unfeeling fire demon, actually _liked_ someone. And not just any person! No, the ferry girl was no Kurama, nor was she like Yukina. She was an anti-Hiei. The loud, giggly, and brightly dressed female to counteract the quiet, scornful, and shadow-like male. They were as opposite as positive and negative magnets.

Yet opposite magnets attract, don't they?

This thought did not bode well with Hiei. Opposites shouldn't attract! Hiei shouldn't even like Botan! And Botan should be scared of Hiei, not in love with him! The fates must be having such fun watching the two lesser beings interact with one another. Oh, the fates do indeed have a sick, twisted sense of humor.

Hiei sighed. Next time he was visiting Reikai, the fates would be receiving an angry visitor with a sharp sword.


	20. Yukina's True Love

**To anyone who recognized the Yu Gi Oh quote: **yes I did get "let's you and I mate right away" from a YGO manga. Sorry if I forgot to mention that earlier!

**Last Chapter...**

_Hiei, the unfeeling fire demon, actually liked someone. And not just any person! No, the ferry girl was no Kurama, nor was she like Yukina. She was an anti-Hiei. The loud, giggly, and brightly dressed female to counteract the quiet, scornful, and shadow-like male. They were as opposite as positive and negative magnets._

_Yet opposite magnets attract, don't they?_

_This thought did not bode well with Hiei. Opposites shouldn't attract! Hiei shouldn't even like Botan! And Botan should be scared of Hiei, not in love with him! The fates must be having such fun watching the two lesser beings interact with one another. Oh, the fates do indeed have a sick, twisted sense of humor._

_Hiei sighed. Next time he was visiting Reikai, the fates would be receiving an angry visitor with a sharp sword._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 20: Yukina's True Love**

The next day was Sunday, and Yukina woke up early, eager to wake Yusuke and the others. After they ate a light breakfast, Genkai searched again for Kurama but didn't find him in the city, so instead she found Touya still at the hotel. Yukina was led there, and taken to Touya's hotel room. Then, after being reassured that everything was fine and that she wasn't needed any longer, Genkai left to go back to her temple. Once she had departed, Yukina knocked on the hotel door and waited for an answer.

Considering how late he stayed up last night, Touya woke up fairly early to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. Once he was at least half conscious, he stood and went to the door.

Upon opening it, he discovered Yukina had come to visit, and his heart nearly skipped a beat. She had come for him at the hotel? She had actually searched hard enough to find him? This was more than Touya ever dared to fantasize about! And they were nearly alone too, with only a sleeping Rinku to interrupt them! Ah... Touya must be in heaven!

"Um... yes? What can I do for you?" asked Touya, trying hard not to squeal like a schoolgirl and hug the beautiful ice apparition.

"May I come in first?" Yukina requested.

"Oh of course!" Touya answered, cursing his bad manners as he let Yukina in. They both went to the couch and sat down beside each other. Once they were settled, Yukina turned to Touya and said, "I need to you wake Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara."

"Uh-huh..." Touya responded absent mindedly, staring in awe at the object of his affection.

"The plant Kurama had in his room bloomed while we were inside searching for you, and it released some sort of sleeping gas. The others fainted, but I was able to escape. They're probably still unconscious in Kurama's room."

"You... you were looking for me yesterday?" Touya asked hopefully, wondering if she loved him so much to search such a long time.

"Keiko seemed to believe that you were dating Botan even though Hiei was already her boyfriend, and she wanted to... talk, I suppose, to you about it, though she seemed awfully angry at you..."

"Oh... yeah..." Touya said, but then he realized that Yukina might believe it too, so he continued, "THAT WASN'T A DATE! Botan and I are FRIENDS! I don't even like her that way!"

"You don't have to yell. I assumed that was true from the beginning..."

"Oh..." Touya replied rather sheepishly.

"So about Keiko and the others- can you cure them?"

"Sorry, I have no idea what happened to them. That was all Kurama's doing, and you'll have to wait until he gets back. I think he's still be in Reikai with Shizuru."

"Reikai?! Why did they go there?"

"It's a long story..."

"Care to tell me?"

"I'm not sure if I should. Hiei and Botan might not appreciate it, not to mention Koenma..."

"Oh, that's okay then. I don't want anyone to get angry about it if it's supposed to be secret."

"Hmmm... Then again, Hiei might not want me to keep it a secret from you..." Touya said, trying to decide what Hiei would like him to do. "I might as well tell you. You're probably going to find out eventually."

Touya began telling the story (leaving out the parts that might reveal his crush), as Yukina listened to him intently and stayed silent. Upon the end of the story, she said, "Oh my... That would explain why things have been so weird lately. So Hiei really doesn't love Botan? That's too bad... I was hoping he might actually have found a girlfriend..." Yukina sighed sadly, and continued, "Poor Botan! This whole situation must be stressful for her. I hope she's all right. Where is she now?"

"Probably in the bedroom," Touya said with a shrug. He hadn't seen Botan since last night, and he never found out if Hiei was still mad at him for liking his sister. "I'll go check on them, if it will make you feel better."

He went to the bedroom and knocked on the closed door politely. Hearing only silence as his answer, he opened the door and looked inside the room only to find Rinku sprawled out on the bed, snoring in his slumber. Hoping that Botan and Hiei were hiding somewhere, Touya searched the room for them- under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains- but didn't find either chibi.

Panic came upon Touya as he wondered frantically how to explain this to Yukina. 'The chibis were placed under my care, and I seem to have misplaced them. So your brother and Botan are missing right now. Oh and by the way, remember that date I told you about? Would you like to go with me? Thanks, that would be wonderful!'

No, there had to be a better way! Now where had they gone... Thinking back to yesterday, Touya remembered seeing Hiei walk past him when Rinku and Touya were coming back to the room. Assuming Botan was with him, the chibis could be anywhere by now!

Touya couldn't just leave to look for them unless he told Yukina the truth about the missing chibis, which was to be avoided at all costs. Someone else would have to look for them and bring them back without alerting the clever ice apparition... A plan formed in Touya's mind, and he pulled out his communication mirror to contact his friends.

Some distance away, on top of the roof that had acted as his bed previously, Jin answered the call cheerfully, since he had been given communication mirror once Shishiwakamaru and Suzuka decided to go elsewhere.

"Jin! I've got a problem..." Touya said, and he told him about the missing chibis and Yukina. "I need you to find them and bring them back to the hotel bedroom without Yukina suspecting anything! If she knows that I lost them, she'll never like me!"

The Wind Master smiled and said, "Aw, that's cute how you're worried about her opinion and all that! You two are gonna be so cute together! Heheh you'd just better be aware that that Kuwabara person has already claimed her! I don't want you killing him or anything..."

"Just start looking!" Touya snapped, already fully aware that Kuwabara might offer competition for the ice apparition's heart.

"Alright, alright already! I'm going! Just one question- when do you expect Shishi, Suzuka, and Chuu back?"

"Oh, I don't know! Sometime after Hiei and Botan have already arrived."

"Okay then, I'll tell them that."

With that, the screen blanked out and Touya put the communication mirror away. Then, after making sure he didn't appear worried, he walked back to Yukina and, trying his best to remember that lying wasn't dishonorable, he said, "Botan and Hiei are asleep in the bedroom right now. I didn't want to wake them, so I just let them be."

"Oh, okay. It's good to know that they're getting some sleep, at least," Yukina replied. Then, trying to make conversation, she asked, "Touya, you're going on that group date, aren't you?"

"Hai. Why do you ask?" Touya wondered, hoping that she might be asking him out.

"I was hoping you could watch over Hiei and Botan."

Of course she wouldn't be asking him out!

"O-oh, of course," Touya replied. Now, if only he could work up the courage to ask her...

* * *

After receiving Touya's call, Jin took to the sky, flying just high enough so that humans would mistake him for an odd plane. Squinting down below, Jin tried to find one of the chibis by sight. But the city had too many buildings and other large objects for him to be able to spot anything. So, Jin decided to try a different method- something he called wind-location.

By sending out gusts of wind, he could vaguely feel an object's shape by how much wind was blocked by the object. It was similar to echolocation, thus the name wind-location.

After doing this several times, Jin located two small shapes in a tree at a park. Trying to avoid ningen eyes, he landed under the cover of some tall trees and walked towards the shapes' location to investigate... only to find two sleeping squirrels.

Okay, so maybe wind location wasn't foolproof...

Slightly frustrated, he began walking back to where he had come from, avoiding flight in case of human eyes. After only a short distance, a spot of black caught his eyes. Could that be Hiei?

Jin looked closer and discovered the two chibis on a tree branch, Botan asleep in Hiei's arms.

"Awww, ain't that just adorable!"

Fully awake, Hiei glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to bring you two back to the hotel! I bet you had fun last night, ne?"

"Are you implying something?"

"Of course not!"

Then, without warning, Jin picked both of the chibis up and took to the sky, careful to not hurt Botan and ignoring Hiei's protests. Soon, they arrived at the hotel and snuck in through the bedroom window.

After letting Hiei go, Jin set Botan down on the bed gently beside a snoring Rinku, since she was still asleep. Then he turned to Hiei and said, "Alright, you have to watch her until she wakes up, ok?"

Of course, there wasn't really any need for her to be watched, but Jin didn't want Hiei to interrupt Touya and Yukina.

Having nothing else to do, Hiei agreed. Then, with a good bye to the chibis, Jin left through the window to find the other three.

* * *

While all of this was going on, Touya was still struggling to tell Yukina about his feelings.

"Um, Yukina..." Touya began.

"Yes?"

"I... well, you see..."

"What is it?"

"I really, really like this person, and..."

"Oh, is it Jin?" Yukina asked naively.

"WHAT?! NO OF COURSE NOT!" a panicked Ice Master said.

"Really? But you two seem so close..."

"That's because we're FRIENDS! Why can't anybody leave us alone about that? I don't see anyone asking Kurama and Hiei if they love each other!"

"Well everyone knows Kurama wouldn't like Hiei of all people, and I'm starting to suspect Hiei likes a certain ferry girl..."

"I don't like GUYS at ALL, OK!?"

"Oh... I'm so sorry, did I offend you?"

"What? No, no of course not!"

"So... you like a girl, right?"

"Right! And I want to ask her out on the group date!"

"Ah, that's wonderful! Who is it?"

"It's... um... well..."

"It's okay, you can tell me! I can keep a secret!"

"Really?"

"Sure! And to make you feel better, if you tell me who you like, I'll tell you who I like!"

"You like someone? Really?" Touya hoped it was himself that she was thinking of.

"Yes, " Yukina answered with a shy smile.

"You tell first!"

"Well... okay... I like Shishiwakamaru!" Yukina admitted with a blush. "Now, who do you like?"

Touya gaped at her. Shishi? SHISHI?! Why the heck would she like him? That arrogant demon just HAD to steal the one thing he wanted, didn't he? Of course, typical Shishi...

And then, suddenly, as if on cue, the hotel door burst open. Suzuka appeared, and behind him came the one and only Shishiwakamaru.

Upon his entrance, Touya glared at Shishi, and Yukina, slightly startled, noticed the look. Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru didn't however, so it came as a complete surprise when Touya suddenly launched himself at the long-haired demon in a fit of jealousy.


	21. Shishiwakamaru Fanclub! Oh Joy!

**Last Chapter...**

_"Well... okay... I like Shishiwakamaru!" Yukina admitted with a blush. "Now, who do you like?"_

_Touya gaped at her. Shishi? SHISHI?! Why the heck would she like him? That arrogant demon just HAD to steal the one thing he wanted, didn't he? Of course, typical Shishi..._

_And then, suddenly, as if on cue, the hotel door burst open. Suzuka appeared, and behind him came the one and only Shishiwakamaru._

_Upon his entrance, Touya glared at Shishi, and Yukina, slightly startled, noticed the look. Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru didn't however, so it came as a complete surprise when Touya suddenly launched himself at the long-haired demon in a fit of jealousy._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 21: Shishiwakamaru Fanclub! Oh Joy!**

"GAH!" Shishi shrieked, and he shoved Touya away from him. "What's wrong with you?!"

"You... you baka playboy! How could you steal her heart?!"

Shishi glared at him. "What are you talking about? Are you having mood swings again?"

"I'm afraid I can explain," said Yukina. All eyed turned on her, and she blushed. "I, well... um..."

"She LIKES Shishiwakamaru!" Touya explained for her.

"Yes... that seems to be the problem... but, I don't quite understand why Touya would be so angry about it..." Yukina said.

Looking at Touya, Yukina, and Shishi, Suzuka smirked. What a wonderful love triangle! This ought to be fun to watch...

"Why, Yukina, Touya's only had the biggest crush on you since the Dark Tournament!" Suzuka explained with a grin.

Touya blushed and stammered his protests while Yukina gasped in shock. "Oh my gosh! I had no idea!"

After finally realizing why Touya attacked him, Shishi smirked at the Ice Master. "So your little ice maiden chose me over you, ne? No surprise there!"

"I'm surprised you have any fangirls at all, Touya. You're as moody as they are! Not to mention the fact that you're always so darn friendly with Jin, if you know what I mean," Suzuka teased.

"Shut up! I have more fangirls than you, baka clown!" Touya replied, offended that Suzuka would suggest he and Jin were more than just friends.

"Ah, but do you have more fangirls than me?" asked Shishi, smirking arrogantly.

Ignoring the question, Touya turned to Yukina and asked, "How can you like him? He's so conceited!"

"Hey! I'm also hot and sexy and an excellent swordsman!" protested Shishi.

Yukina ignored him and answered Touya, "It all began at the Dark Tournament when I talked to some of his fangirls..."

**Flashback**

At the Dark Tournament, after one of the fights, Yukina and the other girls were walking along a hallway. They walked past three Shishi fangirls, who called out to Yukina.

"Hey, little girl!" one said. "Come here for a second!"

Yukina turned and looked at them. After telling her friends to go on ahead of her, she asked, "Yes?"

"You know Shishiwakamaru?"

"Ummm, didn't he fight Genkai? The demon with the odd sword?"

"Yeah that's him! We're his fangirls!" The first girl continued, "I'm the president of the Official Shishiwakamaru Fanclub!"

"And I'm the vice president!" said the second.

"And I'm the secretary!" said the third.

Yukina stared at them, thinking them to be rather odd. Why would they announce their fanclub status so proudly? Wouldn't most demons be embarrassed of their obsession and guilty pleasure?

"And what does this do with me?" the ice demon asked.

"We're recruiting members for the fanclub."

"Not very many demons like to join clubs. I think it's because they have commitment issues."

"You seem like a nice girl. Would you care to join?"

"Ummm, no thank you," Yukina answered. "I hardly know this Shishiwakamaru!"

The fangirls stared at her in shock. After a few seconds of silence, they began telling her how great Shishi was.

"He's so hot!"

"And a good swordsman!"

"And he can make you feel absolutely wonderful!"

"He's just sooooo great!"

Their list of reasons continued for several minutes, until the president pulled out a folder and handed it to Yukina. "Here, look at all of these great pictures of him!"

Yukina looked at the photos. They were all of Shishi posing for the camera. Upon finding a few of his demon form, Yukina smiled. He was so kawaii in those pictures!

"Wow, you must really be dedicated to him!" Yukina finally said. She didn't want to offend them by saying anything about their oddness.

"Yep, that's what a fangirl is! Dedicated to her idol!"

"Here, sign these papers to join, and put your signature here and here, and then sign this membership card," the president requested as she handed Yukina the supplies.

The ice demon, not wanting to hurt their feelings, signed everything and was given the membership card in return.

"There you go! Now you're an official member of the Shishiwakamaru Fanclub!"

"Okay, thanks!" Yukina told them as she walked back to her friends. Thus, her crush on Shishi began...

**End Flashback**

"You joined his FANCLUB?!" Touya asked, shocked. "You didn't even KNOW him!"

With a blush, Yukina nodded. "I-I'm sorry Touya... I wouldn't have said anything about this if I had known you liked me!"

Shishi suddenly took Yukina's hands in his and stared into her eyes. "My dear Yukina, let's forget about Touya. I would be more than happy to accompany you on a date!"

"Oh, are you going on the group date too?" Yukina wondered.

"What group date?"

"Ummm, don't you know about it?"

Touya interrupted them to say, "No, neither of them know anything! Hiei and Botan were trying to keep it a secret!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry... I forgot..." Yukina admitted.

"Forgot what?!" somebody asked, and everyone turned to find the all three chibis standing there, fully awake.

* * *

Botan woke up in a hotel room, coincidentally the same one she had been in right after becoming chibi. Looking around, she spotted Rinku and Hiei sitting on opposite ends of the room.

"Um, hi guys... What's going on?" she asked them, wondering why she wasn't in a tree. "Why am I here?"

"Nothing..." Rinku said.

"He's annoying," stated Hiei, referring to Rinku. "And you're here because Jin dragged us both back here."

"Why would you say he's annoying?" Botan was quite curious about what had gone on while she was asleep.

"I don't like him," replied Hiei, as if that would answer her. After arriving in the hotel room, Rinku had woken up and began bothering Hiei with questions about the whereabouts of his precious sugar. Annoyed, Hiei told him that he didn't know anything about his baka sugar, and Rinku started bugging him even more. Eventually, they began arguing until Hiei finally found the sense to ignore the boy.

"Why don't you like him? Rinku's so kawaii!"

Rinku looked at her oddly. "I thought you liked Hiei...?"

"I do!"

"Then why are you calling him kawaii?!" demanded Hiei, irritated.

"Because he's cute!" Botan answered simply. Everybody knew Rinku was one of the cutest demons at the Dark Tournament!

"Heehee, your girlfriend thinks I'm cute!" taunted the chibi.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Yes she is."

"I am too!"

"NO! I AM SINGLE AND LIKING IT VERY MUCH!" Hiei declared. He was trying his hardest to convince everyone, mainly himself, that he did NOT like Botan, and would never, ever even consider the thought of dating or loving her. Unfortunately, he was doing a terrible job.

"Face it, Hiei, your girl has you WHIPPED!" Rinku teased, enjoying this very much.

"Nobody whips me!" an angry Hiei stated, ready to prove how rebellious he could be. Botan grinned at his discomfort.

"Awww, what's wrong? Can't face the truth?"

"We aren't a couple, and she does not have me whipped. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Hiei went to sulk in a corner, completely ignoring the other two. Today wasn't very much fun. After realizing he no longer disliked Botan and putting up with Rinku for quite some time, this was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Hmph, fine Hiei, have it your way! I'll just talk with your GIRLFRIEND!" Rinku turned to Botan and asked, "Do you have any sugar?"

"No, I'm sorry... Why do you want sugar?"

"Sugar highs are fun! You should try them sometime!"

"I have, but I'm afraid nobody likes me very much when I'm sugar high..."

"I won't mind! It'll be fun to be sugar high with someone else!"

"Well, I'll keep that in mind when I find some sugar to eat, then"

"Okay, good."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"...Are you sure you don't have any sugar?"

"Yes!"

"You do have sugar?"

"No...."

"Then why did you say yes?"

"Because I was sure that I didn't have any sugar," explained Botan, beginning to understand how Rinku annoyed Hiei.

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"I'm very sure."

"Really truly positively?"

"YES!"

"Oh... well you don't have to yell about it..."

Nearing the bedroom door, Botan decided to exit the room before Rinku could irritate her even more. "I'm gonna go see what's going on in the other room. Anybody wanna come?"

In response, Hiei and Rinku stood and walked out the door behind Botan. They were glad to have a reason to leave each other's company. Upon reaching the living room area, they were just in time to hear Yukina admit, "Oh! I'm so sorry... I forgot..."

"Forgot what?" asked Botan.

"I'm so sorry- I forgot that you wanted everything to be a secret!" Yukina said.

"Oh... Who exactly knows everything now?" Botan asked.

"Almost everybody! Except for Shishi, Suzuka, Chuu, and Rinku," said Touya.

"Don't forget that Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yusuke don't know!" Yukina added.

"What are you talking about?" asked Shishi.

"Tell us this secret!" requested Suzuka.

"I WANNA KNOW!" demanded Rinku. He just KNEW this secret involved his sugar, somehow...

"There's no need to tell you," said Hiei with a glare.

"At least not until Chuu is here! I don't want to have to tell it twice!" Botan said.

"Where is Chuu, anyway?" asked Touya.

"I don't know. Jin came by and told us to come back to the hotel, then he had to leave to find Chuu," Suzuka said.

"Fine then, we'll explain once they get here!" Botan announced, and the three demons settled for that. "Okay, so what exactly happened when I was asleep?"

Together, Touya and Yukina explained everything, while Shishi and Suzuka added in their own comments.

"And you didn't even ask Yukina out?!" Botan asked Touya.

"How could I? She doesn't like me that way!"

Hiei glared at Shishi. "You seduced my sister!"

"What?! No I did not! If anything, she seduced ME!" Shishi protested. "Yukina's such a player! First she gets Kuwabara, then Touya, and now me!"

"She is not one of your kind, playboy!" Hiei said.

"Ummm, guys? I'm standing right here!" Yukina reminded them. They, however, ignored her and began arguing intensely.

"Yukina, how could you not like Touya?!" asked Botan. "Go on the group date with him, will you? PLEASE? I had to agree not to ever kiss Hiei again so he would let you go!"

"Really? This was all discussed beforehand?" wondered Yukina.

"Of course it was! Do you know how long it took me to convince Touya that he had to ask you out?" Botan said.

"You didn't have to convince me! I already wanted to ask her!" said Touya.

After overhearing them, Hiei stopped his argument with Shishi and glared at everyone, effectively silencing them. "Yukina, if you decide to date anybody, I would like you to go on the group date with Touya! He's obviously the better choice than Kuwabara or Shishiwakamaru!"

"But... um... I still like Shishi!"

"HOW?!?! How can you LIKE HIM?!"

"I already told you! His fangirls persuaded me!"

"Baka fangirls! I'LL KILL THEM!"

"HEY LEAVE MY FANGIRLS ALONE!" Shishi protested.

"Shut up, playboy! You have more than enough fangirls!"

"Are you saying I don't count? That I'm just another Shishi fangirl?" Yukina asked, slightly hurt.

"No, I'm saying that Shishi wouldn't care if I did kill those baka temptresses!"

"So now I'm a baka temptress? Just because I'm a fangirl?"

"NO! I'm not talking about YOU!"

"Yes you are! I'm a fangirl too! Look- I even have a membership card!" Yukina announced, and held out the card for Hiei to see. Hiei was less than pleased, and suddenly the card was on fire.

"HIEI!" Yukina quickly froze the fire before it could spread. "How could you do that? That was the only card I had!"

"Good, I won't have to destroy any more!"

Botan interrupted them, "Look, Yukina, what if you only went on this group date with Touya to see how nice he is? Maybe you'll learn to like him better than Shishi! But if you don't like him after the date, then he'll leave you alone and you can date anybody you please!"

"Not just ANYBODY..." Hiei reminded them.

"Well.. Alright, then. That sounds fair," Yukina agreed. She smiled at Touya. "I would be happy to go with you on the group date!"

Touya smiled back, happy to have a chance with her. However, Shishi was less than happy. "WHAT?! I want to date Yukina!"

"Shut up, baka! I forbid you to go near her!" commanded Hiei. "Go date your stupid fangirls!"

"TOUYA! WHERE'S MY SUGAR?!" Rinku asked, tired of being ignored for such a long time. Touya stared at him. He hadn't even remembered that he was there, much less his promise to give him sugar!

"Um... well, if you can find the sugar, you can have it!" Touya said.

"Do you PROMISE?"

"Sure..."

"Okies!" Rinku wandered off, in search of sugar. Everyone stared at him as he left, wondering what was so darn good about sugar. That boy was completely obsessed! Whatever happened to the normal, yo-yo toting young demon?

"Shishi, why do you have so many fangirls? You're so snobby and you look like a girl!" Botan said.

"WHAT?!" Shishi was less than pleased to hear that. "I am VERY masculine, thank you very much!"

"Unfortunately, she's right! You still need a haircut!" Suzuka agreed. He had been silent the whole time upon the chibis' arrival, watching everyone argue. Ah, live soap operas are the best entertainment...

"I do NOT need a haircut! However, YOU NEED A MAKEOVER!" Shishi glared, and Suzuka glared back. But before a fight could break out, the hotel door opened and in came Jin and Chuu.

"Hello, everyone!" Jin greeted. "I finally found everybody!"

However, greetings were cut short when Suzuka commanded, "Okay, Chuu's here now, so spill!"

"Ehhh, wha?" Chuu asked upon hearing his name.

"Just listen! Wait, where's Rinku?" Botan asked.

"I'll get him!" Yukina went to get the chibi, and returned shortly with a protesting Rinku.

"Ok, so this is what happened..."

* * *

"I don't want to."

"You have to!"

"NO!"

"Oh come on!"

Koenma shook his head stubbornly. "I am NOT going to tell Hiei and Botan the whole story! You two already know, so why don't you tell them?!"

"Because you caused everything. If we have to, we'll make you do it!"

Shizuru and Kurama had woken up a few hours previously and immediately started bugging the godling. At the moment they were in Koenma's office, arguing heatedly.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Never! I'm a GOD and you can't make me do anything!"

"Actually, we can," said Kurama, rather arrogantly. "We don't have to help you with your date. You don't even know who it is, so how would you know if we 'accidentally' picked up the wrong girl and you were stuck with an ugly drag queen dwarf?"

"...Hiei?!?! IN DRAG?!" shrieked Koenma, horrified.

"BAKA! Of course it couldn't be Hiei!" reprimanded Shizuru. Though she wouldn't really mind if Hiei took her place...

"Then who would it be? He's the only guy I know who looks dwarfish!"

"I know many more people than you do, Koenma, and most would look worse than Hiei in drag..." explained Kurama. Why were they suddenly talking about this?! They should be discussing why Koenma should come clean with Hiei and Botan. Getting back on topic, the fox said, "Now you're going to tell Hiei and Botan everything or else we'll make sure your date is a disaster!"

"But... how could you do that to me? You know why I need a date so badly!"

"How could you not tell Hiei and Botan everything? They probably hate you right now- especially Hiei! And you know how dangerous he is!"

Koenma pouted and said defiantly, "I don't care! I refuse to tell them!"

"Why? Just get it over with!"

"I've been through so many traumatizing things already! Botan rejected me for HIEI, I'm going to be forced to go on some blind date with a very slim chance of actually liking the girl, much less falling in love with her, and now you want me to tell the woman I loved that I want her to spend a week alone with Hiei and that I'm only a chibi because my father believes in cruel and unusual punishment?!"

"Ummm, basically, yes."

"Absolutely not."

"Then consider your date ruined," threatened Kurama.

"I don't care, okay?! I probably won't even like my date! She probably IS a dwarf in drag!"

Shizuru glanced between Kurama and Koenma, rather nervously. Should she tell him that she was, in fact, his date or not?

"I can assure you that your date will not be a mutilated beast that goes against the laws of nature," said Kurama, "If you agree to tell the truth to Hiei and Botan."

"No. I refuse to tell them, and if you try to make me go out with some freak, then I refuse to date anyone too."

Her mind made up, Shizuru exclaimed, "It won't be a freak! The girl you're going to date is ME! Do I look like a freak to you?! NO! So quit complaining and come clean with Hiei and Botan already before I beat some sense into you!"

The two guys stared at her oddly, one wondering why she said that, and the other thinking that she was looking VERY un-freaky for a future date... In fact, when Koenma glanced at her from that sort of view, she was rather... cute. Tall... feminine... _curvy_...

The godling blinked, trying to stay focused on the matter at hand. "You... you're my date?"

Shizuru nodded and glared at him, "But don't get any ideas about it. I was FORCED to date you, okay?!"

"Oh..." Koenma seemed crestfallen. He chased off a ferry girl and ended up with a reluctant blind date. Hooray. By this progress, he'd be trying to marry an inanimate object (and probably get rejected as well).

"Look what you did, Shizuru!" Kurama reprimanded, almost teasingly. "Now he's depressed because nobody wants to date him!"

"I didn't mean... I just don't want him to get the wrong idea, alright?" Shizuru scowled at the fox. "What if he thought I was in love with him? I'd be leading him on!"

"But at least he'd be happy."

"I wouldn't be, and when he found out the truth, neither would he."

"So you'd prefer to save yourself the pain by making him suffer now."

"No, I'd rather save us both the trouble of finding these things out the hard way."

"I'm right here, you know," reminded Koenma. "I can hear you talking about me."

Turning to the godling and completely ignoring Kurama, Shizuru said, "Look, it's not like I hate you or anything, but I don't even KNOW you so why would I want to date you? But... I'll give you a chance to prove yourself, ok?"

"Okay!" Koenma agreed with her eagerly. You would have to be a fool to not want her as a date!

"Only if you tell Hiei and Botan the truth, though."

Sighing, Koenma considered his options. Date Shizuru and possibly lift the horrible curse, or spare himself the humiliation of telling Botan everything. Well... the girl was pretty cute, and it's not like there was a line of bachelorettes outside of his bedroom door. So, he'd just have to grin and bear it... or perhaps grimace is a better word?

"Alright! I'll tell them!" the godling said, reluctantly.

"Good!" Kurama smiled. This was working out beautifully. "Then let's go to the human world!"


	22. Koenma Tells All Yet Again

Wow... I have over 400 reviews.... Amazing! Thank you, kind reviewers! And I apologize for the lack of updates and the shortness of chapters... I'm working on it! Really, I am! To celebrate this joyous occasion, here is a 4000 word long chapter (well, about 4000 words anyway...).

To **anyone disturbed by Shishi/Yukina: **I don't particularly like this pairing either... I just thought it would be interesting to think about. Well, no worries, because Touya is going to end up with Yukina.... somehow....

To **mistressKC and anyone else wanting to use lines from this story: **I don't mind if you use a quote from this story, but could you give me a little credit for it? Like in an author's note or something? And give me the link to the story you use it in, so I can read and review it!

**Last Chapter...**

_Sighing, Koenma considered his options. Date Shizuru and possibly lift the horrible curse, or spare himself the humiliation of telling Botan everything. Well... the girl was pretty cute, and it's not like there was a line of bachelorettes outside of his bedroom door. So, he'd just have to grin and bear it... or perhaps grimace is a better word?_

_"Alright! I'll tell them!" the godling said, reluctantly._

_"Good!" Kurama smiled. This was working out beautifully. "Then let's go to the human world!"_

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 22: Koenma Tells All Yet Again**

Kurama knocked on the hotel door and waited patiently for someone to open it. Shizuru and Koenma stood behind him, rather awkwardly. Now that the godling knew his date, he felt nervous, and that was making Shizuru feel nervous too. Who knew nervousness was contagious?

Touya opened the door and greeted them. Hiei and Botan had already finished their explanation to Rinku and the others, and they had just been waiting for Kurama and Shizuru to show up. The three arrivals walked in, and everyone welcomed them cheerfully, already impatient after waiting around for so long. A few eyebrows rose upon seeing Koenma, but no one commented on it.

Immediately, Yukina spoke up, "Kurama, you have to go cure Keiko, Yusuke, and Kuwabara! The plant in your room released a sleeping gas, and they haven't woken up yet."

With everything that had been going on, the fox had completely forgotten about that! Quickly, he reassured Yukina that it would be taken care of. Then, Kurama said to Hiei and Botan, "Koenma has something to tell you." Glancing at the crowded room full of people, he continued, "It would probably be better if we went to the bedroom, though."

Curious, Botan agreed while Hiei only glared at the godling. Kurama led them to the other room, and Shizuru dragged a reluctant Koenma behind them. Then Shizuru closed the door so the others wouldn't come in and cause even more tension, although they would probably be eavesdropping on them the entire time. Everyone found a place to sit, and the discussion began.

"Koenma, your explanation?" Shizuru prompted.

"Uhhh..." Koenma stared at the chibis, wide-eyed. He couldn't do this! Botan would hate him... Hiei would hurt him... Shizuru was right there too.... oh, DARN KURAMA! He had placed the poor godling in this horrible situation!

"Did you find the cure?" asked Botan, wondering why Koenma had been brought back.

"Sort of..." Kurama said. "But it's best that Koenma tell you everything. He hasn't exactly been truthful these past few days."

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "He lied to us?!"

"Umm.... well, you see..." the godling glanced at Shizuru pleadingly. He couldn't do this alone! The girl simply glared back at him, as if to tell him to hurry up, and Koenma's hopes of salvation sank.

"Koenma... You agreed to tell them!"

"What in the three worlds is so bad that you can't tell us?" Botan stared at Koenma. "Are you hiding something from us? WHAT IS IT?! Do you know the CURE for those horrible Joyful Pills?"

The godling cleared his throat nervously. "Yes... the cure, you see, was really the test... Happy Island has nothing to do with this! Nothing at all! It's not even remotely dangerous, unless you can't swim because then you might drown in the sea... But otherwise, it's perfectly safe and normal and I just wanted to make you happy, Botan, really I did!"

"What is the cure?!" Hiei snapped impatiently. He had been waiting for this for such a long time, and this moron was rambling about Happy Island!

"A kiss from your true love..."

Hiei and Botan stared at each other, horrified for very different reasons. Although Botan was more than willing to kiss her beloved, that would mean breaking her promise, which also meant that Hiei wouldn't let Yukina date Touya!

And of course, Hiei didn't enjoy the fact that the only cure was a display of affection, but the second part of what Koenma said made it even worse. If he kissed Botan and they were cured, then that would prove they were truly in love! Hiei couldn't do that! He hadn't even completely accepted the fact that he might not dislike her or might even enjoy that baka onna's company!

"NO!" each chibi exclaimed simultaneously.

The other three stared at them. No? NO?! They had gone through all of this trouble just to hear a NO?!?!

"Why not?!" asked Kurama.

"I can't kiss him! I PROMISED NOT TO!" explained Botan.

"She's kissed me before and I don't like it! I SHALL NEVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!" declared Hiei.

"But... I thought you two were in love!" Koenma exclaimed, a bit suspiciously. Everyone stared at each other, at the godling, then back at each other. Uh-oh, he hadn't been told...

"Well, you see..."

"They aren't really..."

"Hiei isn't..."

"Botan loves me but I don't love her!" Hiei summed up.

Realizing what this meant, Koenma's eyes widened. "Then... you'll never be cured!"

"That's exactly our problem!"

"Oh, Hiei, it's not that bad. Just kiss her and see what happens!" Kurama suggested. "You might not be cured, but at least she will be!"

"NO!" he protested.

"Ummmm... can I tell the WHOLE story first?" wondered Koenma, deciding to forget that Hiei and Botan had totally lied to him about being in love. He would have to tell them everything eventually, and it was better to say it now before someone tried to force their lips together... No matter how angry or disappointed or whatever they were now, it would probably be multiplied several times over by the time this whole chibi escapade was finished with.

"Whole... story?!" Hiei and Botan stared at Koenma. What more was there to tell? Was there another requirement for the cure?

Before either chibi could get angry, the godling told them the story that Kurama and Shizuru had already heard. When he had finished, Botan gave him a look of pity.

"Oh my... Lord Enma really did that to you?! I'M SORRY, KOENMA, THAT I CAN'T HELP YOU!" the girl wailed, completely distressed.

Hiei simply rolled his eyes. "Shut up! It's his own fault!"

"No it's not! HE CAN'T FIND LOVE BECAUSE HE'S A CHIBI, BUT HE'S CHIBI BECAUSE HE CAN'T FIND LOVE! It's a lose-lose situation! A downward spiral of hopelessness and despair!"

"Thank you, Botan, for that lovely thought..." Koenma said dryly. He didn't need to hear that! He'd already had years and decades to think of how hopeless his love life was!

"But, oh, don't you worry Koenma! You and Shizuru will get along just fine!" Botan winked at the godling. Upon hearing her, Shizuru raised an eyebrow, doubtful that she could ever get along with the toddler. He just wasn't her type!

"Where exactly are we having this group date anyway?" asked Koenma, changing the subject before Botan started an in-depth discussion of his love life.

Kurama spoke up, "I was thinking about that, and I may have a nice idea..."

"Oh?"

"Why don't we just go to Happy Island? We could all go and stay for a week, since Hiei and Botan were going to anyway, and during that time we could all go out together once for the group date."

Hiei glared at the fox. "No! I'm not spending a WEEK with these... bakas!"

"You wouldn't have to spend the whole time with them! And you're going to have to go to Happy Island to complete your deal with Koenma! Would you prefer to go with others or just with Botan?"

"Hn..." Hiei looked away. Of course he wouldn't want to spend time alone with Botan. There was no telling just what might happen...

"I wouldn't mind having a week's worth of vacation, but what about you, Kurama? Don't you have school or something?" asked Shizuru.

"Yes, I do, don't I? Hmmm..." Kurama looked thoughtful for a minute before his face brightened and he said, "I could tell my mother that I was asked to become a foreign exchange student! Then my school would be happy to let me go, and my mother wouldn't mind either!"

"Fox, you're so willing to lie, aren't you?" Shizuru assumed.

"Well... okay, yes, so I'm a bit of a pathological liar..." the fox admitted with a grin.

Koenma looked at them disbelievingly. "Do you know how much it would cost for a group as large as ours to stay at HAPPY ISLAND- the vacationing spot of the GODS- for an entire week?!"

"How much?"

"Millions! BILLIONS EVEN! Too much! We would NEVER be able to afford it unless I asked my father for money from the Reikai treasury!!!" Koenma was panicked now. There would be no way they could afford it. "You have NO IDEA how many strings were pulled just to get Hiei and Botan in! And on such a short notice too!"

Botan stared at the godling in something akin to awe. "I... I remember hearing about it now! Happy Island is the island in Makai purchased by gods and turned into a paradise! I remember the other ferry girls talking about how gods would go there for honeymoons and anniversaries and weddings, and the waiting list was years long!!! And Koenma got us in for a WEEK?!?!"

"It was originally booked by my father for our wedding, Botan, but... well, you know what happened..."

"Oh..." Botan felt really bad about rejecting Koenma now. If only she had known from the start...

Koenma managed to grin at the chibi. "Botan, please don't worry about me. You have more than enough trouble on your hands with Hiei."

The blue-haired girl glanced at the fire demon in question, and he glared back, unhappy that they were discussing him. Indeed, Hiei was going to be difficult to get along with, even if she did love him.

"Koenma, can you ask your father to get us into Happy Island? Just tell him that it's to help with the love spell!" Kurama suggested.

"No! He'd never let us! If I told him that, he would only pay for me and my date."

"Then is it possible to sneak onto the island?"

"It's an ISLAND surrounded by WATER and it has a state-of-the-art security system too! You might as well try to sneak out of Reikai prison!" Koenma exclaimed.

"I could escape prison if I really wanted to..." Kurama's eyes gleamed with excitement at the thought of this new challenge. "Let's say we managed to sneak onto the island and got past their security. Couldn't you just order them to let us stay there for a week? You're a god, after all."

"No, they wouldn't allow it. Reservations only!"

Many suggestions were passed around, but each was shot down for one reason or another. There just didn't seem to be a solution! Hiei seemed in favor of just going and threatening to kill everyone if they weren't allowed to stay; Botan and Shizuru wanted everyone to go to Lord Enma, explain everything, and ask for his help; Kurama still believed he could sneak everyone onto the elusive island; and Koenma just knew that it was hopeless.

Sighing, Kurama finally said, "This is getting nowhere! Maybe we should focus on our other problems..."

"Such as...?" wondered Shizuru.

"Hiei and Botan need to be cured. Koenma also needs to be cured and has to find a suitable wife, which will hopefully be Shizuru. To make things easier on the group date, we can't allow Jin and the others to go or else it will be impossible to go anywhere without a chaotic mess breaking out. Touya still has to convince Yukina that he's better than Shishi, but I suppose that isn't _our_ problem right now," explained Kurama. Then, "And I still have to go to my house and wake Keiko, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, not to mention ask Keiko to accompany me on the date AS A FRIEND and nothing more!"

Everyone stared at the fox silently, wondering when things were ever going to be normal again. It all started with a simple marriage proposal from Koenma to Botan, and now they were hoping to sneak into a god's vacationing spot, playing matchmaker with everyone, and generally causing more problems than they were fixing.

"What in the three worlds are we going to do?" Botan asked to no one in particular. "This is just one huge mess!"

"I agree," stated Shizuru.

"Mm-hmm..." Koenma concurred rather hopelessly.

"I'm sick of all these pointless discussions! It's time to get things done!" Hiei exclaimed, taking charge of the situation in a sudden flash of impatience. "Fox, you need to go and wake the idiots at your house. Worry about getting a girl for the date and what ridiculous lie you're going to feed to your ningen mother, and leave everything else to the rest of us. Koenma, quit being such a baby, go with Shizuru, and ask your father to let us stay on the island. If he refuses, then we'll just sneak in anyway!"

Hiei paused to glance angrily towards the bedroom door, behind which everyone else was probably listening in on them. "There will only be eight of us going to Happy Island- me, Botan, Koenma, Shizuru, Touya, Yukina, Kurama, and his date; we aren't responsible for taking anybody else, but if they decide to follow us, then that's their problem. And once we reach the island, we'll consider the actual date and cures for these horrid love spells."

Everyone decided not to comment on Hiei's sudden change of attitude from the silent glaring chibi to the glaring, impatient chibi who told people what to do and left no room for argument. Someone had to take the role of leader around here anyway, and it wasn't like there were any wannabe heroes around to save the day- Yusuke and Kuwabara were still unconscious, after all.

"Alright, Hiei, we'll do all of that, but what about you and Botan?" Kurama asked. "Do you really intend to kiss her and then magically turn back to your normal self on Happy Island? You can only be cured by your true love, you know."

"I know that! Stay out of my business, kitsune! The ferry onna and I will worry about it later!" Hiei snapped irritably.

Botan stared at the object of her affection, surprisingly silent for once. He was actually helping them get through all of this- what a miracle! And he sounded really cute when he got angry like that... The poor ferry girl thought she might fall in love all over again!

Watching the blue-haired chibi, Shizuru recognized the look on her face and smiled inwardly. Those two were just too adorable! Someday, they would make a great couple, if only Hiei would stop being such a stubborn blockhead. Ah, if only Shizuru's love life were that simple... She was going to have to tag along with Koenma to see his father, and later on she would have to actually go on a date with the toddler. How fun.

"What exactly am I supposed to tell my father?" Koenma asked, already nervous at the very idea.

"The truth," Hiei answered simply.

"But... I can't do that! He can't know that a ferry girl rejected my proposal! That I'm trying to date a ningen girl! That I've caused this mess!"

"I'll be helping you, Koenma," reminded Shizuru before the godling panicked and did something stupid, like run into a wall. That would be embarrassing to explain at a hospital!

"Oh... that's right, you'll be going with me!" His face brightened. Perhaps it won't be SO terrible.

"You should probably leave now. There's no telling when your father will have the time to talk to you," Kurama said. Of course Lord Enma would be busy. He was such an important god, so there must be tons of work for him to do.

Koenma nodded in agreement, and they all began walking out of the bedroom. Upon opening the door, they found Touya and the others all standing around, some with their ears to the door or wall. The eavesdroppers backed away quickly, caught in their act.

Ignoring their lame excuses for being so close to the door, Botan asked, "So you guys heard everything?"

"Yes..." Touya admitted, a bit guiltily.

"Good, then there's no need to explain!" Kurama said. "Yukina and Touya, why don't you come with me? When Keiko wakes up, she'll still be angry with Touya for his so-called date with Botan. We're going to have to clarify a few things."

"That's probably a good idea," Yukina agreed, and Touya nodded.

So after bidding everyone goodbye, Koenma and Shizuru left for Reikai, and Touya, Yukina, and Kurama left for the fox's house. This left three chibis and four rather irresponsible demons all alone in the hotel.

Almost immediately, everyone went on their way to do whatever they pleased. Chuu went out for liquor, and Rinku for sugar. Refusing to say where exactly they were headed, Shishiwakamaru and Suzuka quickly left. Jin followed them, having nothing better to do than make sure they didn't get into trouble.

Thus, alone and unsupervised, Hiei and Botan were left in the hotel room.

Botan stared at the fire demon, who refused to return the look. "So, Hiei, what do you want to do? We have all day to spend together! Let's have some fun, ne?"

"No thank you. I'd rather just stay here."

"Oh..." Botan grew thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "I'm hungry!"

Glancing at the nearest clock, Hiei noted that it was past noon already. She should be hungry, since she hadn't eaten for nearly twenty-four hours.

"Then eat something, onna."

"The only food in hotels is ridiculously expensive, and I don't even have any money with me!"

"Then go out and eat!"

"I still don't have money to pay for it! Do you?"

"Of course not!"

"We're broke and hungry! WHAT DO WE DO?"

"Steal something, then."

"But... stealing is WRONG!"

"Then 'borrow' something!"

"Oh... like what?"

"Food."

"But... you can't borrow food! Either you take it and eat it, or you don't take it at all."

"That's why it's called 'borrowing'."

"What difference does that make?"

"The quotes!!! That's the difference!"

"Oh... so in other words, 'borrowing' is stealing?"

"No, 'borrowing' is taking something and not returning it."

"So it's stealing."

"Stealing is when you take something."

"And don't return it."

"That would be 'borrowing'."

"Uh-huuuh... I had no idea the vocabulary of a thief was so complicated!" Botan exclaimed.

"I'm a 'borrower', not a thief."

"But it's the SAME THING! When you 'borrow' something, you take it! Steal it! And never return it!"

"'Borrowing' is legal."

"No it's not!"

"It is, because you 'forget' to return the 'borrowed' item."

Botan thought about that for a minute, and then exclaimed, "Oh, I get it now! It's a loophole in the law!"

"Exactly."

"Wow you thiev- er, 'borrowers' sure have twisted logic!" Botan said. Then she grinned. "Wanna go 'borrow' something?"

"Such as?"

"Food."

Hiei smirked, glad that she was catching on. She wasn't quite so bad, after all. "Okay, just pick a place!"

* * *

Jim hated his job as an employee of Starbucks. Too many hours, too many ungracious customers, and not enough pay. Sure, you actually had coffee on your coffee break, but it wasn't free. Upon seeing Hiei and Botan enter the shop, he sighed and mentally prepared himself for more orders of coffee.

When the two approached the counter to order, he asked monotonously, "What can I get for you today?"

Hiei looked at Botan questioningly. "Why are we here? This is a coffeehouse!"

"I like coffee!"

"But... you're HUNGRY, not thirsty!"

"Coffee is better than food," Botan explained.

"No it's not."

"How would YOU know?"

"I've had coffee before and it tastes like-"

"AHEM, may I help you?" Jim interrupted impatiently. Other customers were kept waiting while these two argued!

Before Jim became angry, Botan quickly ordered two cups of coffee. When he asked for the money, the chibis stared at him blankly.

"M-money?"

"Yes. To pay for your coffee?"

"Oh... well can we pay AFTER we get our order?"

Jim glared at them suspiciously. "Can't you pay now?"

"I want to be sure we like the coffee before paying for it!" explained Hiei.

An eyebrow rose and Jim continued to glare. Hadn't the spiky-haired one just said that he hated coffee? They were planning something... But he couldn't just refuse their request without causing a big scene and making other customers wait even longer. So, reluctantly, he nodded and motioned for Hiei and Botan to stand to the side as a fellow Starbucks employee prepared the coffee.

When given their order and asked to pay by Jim's coworker, Hiei and Botan stared blankly yet again. Then, without another word, they grabbed the coffee, turned, and ran toward the door.

But Jim was prepared for that. He knew they were going to attempt something stupid like that. Before they could leave, he reached under the counter, opened the emergency panel, and pushed the emergency Starbucks lock-up anti-thief button.

A red light flashed, a siren whined, and sliding metal sheets sealed all doors and windows. Every customer in the store froze, including Hiei and Botan, and looked around in awe. Who would've imagined a Starbucks that had such an odd security system?

Hiei didn't know what to do. Despite his experience in 'borrowing', this had NEVER happened before. He wasn't at all prepared for ningens with strong anti-thief policies! Botan was even more clueless, and she glanced at Hiei for guidance, but received nothing but a helpless stare.

Jim grinned, glad to have caught them in the act of skipping out on their bill. "Attention all Starbucks customers and employees. Please direct your attention to the two kids with the odd hair," Jim announced. When everyone was looking at Hiei and Botan, he continued, "Yes, the two with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look have just attempted to steal coffee from your local Starbucks. Now watch what happens to THIEVES!"

Botan frowned. "We aren't thieves! We're 'borrowers'!"

Jim snorted. "Same thing."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

As Botan and Jim argued, Hiei thought about their situation and, most importantly, how to get out of it. Although he didn't care if he frightened any ningens, he couldn't just show them his Jagan or something, or else he AND Botan would get in trouble with Reikai, so that meant no fighting or use of his true speed. But... that also meant it would be impossible to escape...

Finally, before Hiei could come to a conclusion, Jim had had enough. "That's it. No more arguing, girl. You two are going to pay for your coffee!"

"But... we have no money!" wailed Botan. This wasn't supposed to happen! They should've been out the door and a few blocks away, enjoying their 'borrowed' coffee by now!

"Oh? Then why did you try to purchase coffee?"

"We're hungry orphans who live on the street! We would've starved otherwise! Are you so heartless that you would let that happen to us?" Hiei was straight out lying now, in hopes of escaping without too much trouble. Well... SOME of what he said was true. They had no parents to speak of, and they WERE hungry...

"Oh ho, so you're starving orphans, ne? Then why are you so CLEAN?"

"Because... uhhh...."

"See? You're LYING! I can tell!" Jim exclaimed, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. Oh, this would be FUN!

"We still don't have any money to pay! And we're really hungry!"

"Then go get your mommy and daddy to pay for it," Jim said, rather mockingly.

"My parents are DEAD!" exclaimed Hiei with a furious glare.

Botan nodded and added, "I don't even REMEMBER my parents."

"Hmph... Yeah, right! Your parents probably sent you here to cause trouble!"

"YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!" Botan screamed. "You're making fun of my DEAD parents! HOW COULD YOU?!"

"And you, little girl, are INSULTING Starbucks by attempting to STEAL your coffee! That does it, into the closet with them!" Jim ordered. Two of his coworkers ran out and grabbed Hiei and Botan, throwing their coffee elsewhere. Then they dragged the struggling chibis into a nearby storage closet and locked the door on them.

Inside the closet, there was a locked door, solid walls, and cleaning equipment surrounded them, but those wouldn't be of any use to escape. Hiei sulked and pouted, rather cutely, and tears began filling Botan's eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening! All she wanted was a cup of coffee...

"Onna, don't CRY!" the fire demon groaned.

"I-I can't HELP IT! This is HORRIBLE!"

"We'll get out... eventually..."

"But we're helpless! If you knock down the door or bust a wall or do ANYTHING that could do any harm..."

"I know, I know, Koenma will have my head!"

"And I'm just... USELESS! I can't help at all!"

Sighing, Hiei sat down against the wall and looked around. What could they do...?

* * *

Note: I don't know anything about working at Starbucks so sorry if it sounds weird...

Oh, and before I forget to say this, the chibi-ness won't last much longer! Really! Hiei and Botan will cure themselves very soon....


	23. Cured Finally

**Last Chapter...**

_Inside the closet, there was a locked door, solid walls, and cleaning equipment surrounded them, but those wouldn't be of any use to escape. Hiei sulked and pouted, rather cutely, and tears began filling Botan's eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening! All she wanted was a cup of coffee..._

_"Onna, don't CRY!" the fire demon groaned._

_"I-I can't HELP IT! This is HORRIBLE!"_

_"We'll get out... eventually..."_

_"But we're helpless! If you knock down the door or bust a wall or do ANYTHING that could do any harm..."_

_"I know, I know, Koenma will have my head!"_

_"And I'm just... USELESS! I can't help at all!"_

Sighing, Hiei sat down against the wall and looked around. What could they do...?

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 23: Cured Finally**

While Hiei and Botan were wasting away in the storage closet, Jin began following Shishi and Suzuka after the pair had mysteriously left the hotel. But it began looking pretty pointless after a while, especially when they passed the same building for the fourth time. The Wind Master assumed that the pair were desperately lost. Taking pity on the ditzy two, he stopped trailing them silently, appeared before them, and asked where they were going.

Shocked that Jin was there, Shishi's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I can tell that you need some directions to get there," Jin answered simply.

"We're not lost! Never in my life have I needed directions from someone such as yourself!" declared Suzuka, appalled at the very idea. Him? Lost? Certainly not!

Jin laughed at his bravado. "You don't have to lie. From one guy to another, I'll help you out, okay?"

"Absolutely not! We do not need your help, so if you will kindly go away and-"

"Where is Kurama's house?" Shishi interrupted his companion impatiently.

Jin raised a curious brow and pointed in the direction. Then, as they began walking, he asked, "Why do you need to go there?!"

"To claim what's rightfully mine, of course," Shishiwakamaru replied, a 'no duh' quality to his tone. When Jin looked confused, he continued exasperatedly, "Yukina has gone there, and I intend to get my fangirl back."

"Ah, of course," Jin said with a grin. "Can't lose one of the thousands of fangirls you have, can you?"

The bishounen sniffed haughtily. "Of course not!"

Suzuka nodded in agreement. "He has to prove that each and every girl matters to him, you know. Or else he might lose the annual demonic bishounen contest - that hasn't happened since Youko disappeared from Makai!"

With a chuckle, Jin replied, "I bet you're glad he's only got human fangirls now, eh?"

"Hmph. I'll prove to Kurama someday that I am the ultimate bishounen! Just you wait, Youko, the day shall come soon!" Shishi stated, a mad gleam in his eyes.

And to Kurama's house they went, as thoughts of fangirls and bishounen contests dancing through Shishi's vain head.

* * *

In Reikai, Koenma was at his office desk, writing busily. Shizuru stood behind him and watched. When they had arrived, they ignored the onis' pleas for Koenma to get back to work and shut themselves in the god's office, away from everything else. After discussing the matter, it was decided that the easiest way to do this was to send King Enma a report of the past days' events followed by a request to stay at Happy Island. Rather than face his father, Koenma opted for the easier way out by simply sending a message. 

As she watched the god write, Shizuru's mind began wandering. She didn't belong in Reikai at all, with its onis, ferry girls, and gods. What right did she, a mere human, have to be here? And Koenma was hoping to _marry_ her? Undoubtedly, that meant she would become a goddess and live her immortal life alongside him in Reikai.

But was that really what she wanted? She did have a life on Earth - family and friends to visit, a job to do, a home to live in. To abandon everything for a man she hardly knew or loved? Shizuru wasn't a hopeless romantic, ready to change her entire life for the sake of love. Many girls would kill for the chance to marry a god, but not her. She was satisfied with being simply Shizuru - the ningen woman with occasional run-ins with the supernatural and the caretaker of her brother, Kuwabara.

"Shizuru?" asked Koenma..

The girl jolted out of her thoughts and focused her attention on the present, realizing she hadn't been paying any attention to Koenma for the last few minutes. "Yeah?"

"I just sent the message to my father. All we have to do now is wait for a reply," Koenma told her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem... distracted." The god stared at her intently, wondering about her well-being.

"Oh, I was just thinking... Koenma, if we fell in love and got married, what would happen then?"

"The honeymoon, of course!"

"After that?"

" What do you mean?"

"Where would I live? What would my job be? What kind of life would I lead then?"

"Oh... well, I'm not sure. I don't remember the last time a god married a human."

"Then our relationship would be unusual?"

"No, gods have had affairs with humans since ancient times. It's just... gods dislike marrying humans. I assume it's because a lot of humans don't even believe in the existence of Reikai or Makai."

"What would happen to me if I married you?" Shizuru asked, plowing on with her questioning.

"Well, you would probably be given a choice - become an immortal and live in Reikai, or live out your days in Ningenkai and then live with me during your afterlife."

"Oh, I see..." Shizuru muttered, considering the options. The latter was more desirable, but would she find someone else to love by then? It was a difficult decision.

"Are you worried about it?" Koenma asked, concerned.

"A bit..." she admitted.

"Don't be. There's a chance we won't even get along with each other, much less marry. But if that does happen, then everything will be sorted out then. Right now, we should only be focusing on getting to Happy Island before thinking of the 'what ifs'," he reassured her. However, inwardly he couldn't help but hope that they would fall in love and get married.

"True enough." Shizuru smiled at him, slightly surprised at his mature attitude. Well, it seems the godling wasn't as babyish as she thought.

As the waiting dragged on, the two made small talk. Their discussion included a broad range of subjects, from weather to thoughts of Happy Island. Finally, an oni burst into the office with a reply.

"Koenma-sama!" the oni said. "Your father wants to see both of you right away!"

"Nani?!" Koenma asked, shocked. Why hadn't he simply written back?

"Hurry, Koenma-sama! He doesn't seem very happy, and it's best to not make him wait!"

The god and Shizuru glanced at each other. This was quite unexpected, to say the least. Without another word, the oni rushed them away to see King Enma...

* * *

Meanwhile, Kurama, Touya, and Yukina were at the fox's house. Upon arriving, they found a frantic Shiori in Kurama's bedroom. She had only entered to check on her son, only to find three unconscious teens on the floor! 

Kurama couldn't believe he had forgotten that his family was supposed to come home so soon! Thinking quickly, he reassured her, "No, no, they don't need an ambulance. They're just three poor, homeless teens that I invited to spend the night. They must be very tired, so it's best not to disturb them."

"Oh! Those poor kids! Is there anything I can do?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll tell you when they need something, okay?"

"All right, then," Shiori said, albeit reluctantly. Then, with a goodbye, she left the room.

"That was... interesting," commented Touya. "Those three will be furious if they know you called them homeless."

"Yes, well, let's not tell them then," Kurama replied.

Then without further ado, it was time to wake the three. Kurama approached them apprehensively, not quite sure he was ready to face an angry Keiko...

* * *

Hiei and Botan were still stuck in the closet. All was silent as Hiei considered their options and Botan simply pondered the thoughts and actions of her beloved fire demon. 

Suddenly, the ferry girl broke into giggles. Slightly annoyed, Hiei glanced at her and asked what was so darn funny.

"I just thought of the perfect way to compare you and Yukina!" she exclaimed, excited over her idea.

The fire demon wasn't amused. "Really..."

"Yeah, you two are like ice cream and french fries! Cold and hot; sweet and salty. Well, you're more sour than salty, but..." Botan explained. "Anyways, you're complete opposites that just go together perfectly!"

"Ice cream does not go with french fries."

"Yes it does. You're just too stubborn to admit I've come up with the perfect metaphor."

A small sigh escaped the demon. He needed to get out of here before her idiocy rubbed off on him. "Okay, that's it. Ferry girl, try to force the door open. If you press your weight against it, it won't be too hard."

"But, I can't! It'll NEVER work!" she replied. "Although, maybe if... no, never mind..."

"What?!"

"If you cured me, then I could probably open it no problem!"

Hiei would do anything in his power to avoid that. It's not so much the kissing that bothered him, but what may happen. If they were to kiss and he was cured, then...

There would be no way he could deny he was in love with Botan.

And when it came to those human-ish feelings, denial was pretty much the only response Hiei had.

"What do you say, Hiei? I know you won't get anything from it, but at least I'll be cured, right?" Botan reasoned, feeling hopeful. If anything could motivate him, it would be the prospect of escaping.

This was a bad idea... a horrible, crazy idea that made Hiei shudder... He knew something bad would happen, but there was nothing else that could be done.

Kiss her, and they might both be cured, which meant they could escape.

Reject the idea and be stuck here until who-knows-when, plus stay chibi for a long, long time.

He had come to Fate's fork in the road, and it was time for Hiei to choose his destiny.

"Fine!" he blurted out before he could think about it any more.

"Really?" Botan stared at him wide-eyed.

"Yes! Just... kiss me and get it over with!"

Nervously, Hiei watched as Botan moved closer, then leaned towards him. Their lips touched for a few seconds, and then the ferry girl, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable, pulled away.

For a while, nothing happened. But then, to Botan's surprise, they _both_ began to grow... However, before Botan could say anything about it, they realized they had forgotten one thing about the pills: when they transform, it makes them fall unconscious for hours as their bodies got used to its new form.

The pair's last thoughts before fainting were that Hiei had been cured, which meant they were truly in love! For the ferry girl, this meant the fairy tale ending she had only dreamed of. But for the fire demon, this was his worst nightmare...

* * *

I apologize for how long I took to write this, and the shortness of the Kurama/Touya/Yukina scene. I'm trying my best! And I promise the next chapter will be posted sometime soon! (As in, within the year.... I'm sooo slow....) 


	24. Conflicting Emotions

Hey I actually updated within the year! Well, barely – with only 5 hours to spare until 2005.

**Last Chapter...**

_Nervously, Hiei watched as Botan moved closer, then leaned towards him. Their lips touched for a few seconds, and then the ferry girl, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable, pulled away._

_For a while, nothing happened. But then, to Botan's surprise, they both began to grow... However, before Botan could say anything about it, they realized they had forgotten one thing about the pills: when they transform, it makes them fall unconscious for hours as their bodies got used to its new form._

_The pair's last thoughts before fainting were that Hiei had been cured, which meant they were truly in love! For the ferry girl, this meant the fairy tale ending she had only dreamed of. But for the fire demon, this was his worst nightmare..._

**Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall**

**Chapter 24: Conflicting Emotions**

"Okay, what do we have to do to wake them up?" asked Touya, referring to Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Kurama explained, "The plant emitted a simple sleeping gas that should wear off. Actually, I'm surprised they're still asleep - the effect should have only lasted six hours..."

"Are they in danger?" Yukina inquired, alarmed. After all, she had been the one to leave her friends here, and she would be responsible if harm came to them as a result.

"No, no, of course not! I would never use a harmful plant on them," Kurama assured. "They had probably breathed in the remnants of the gas while they were asleep, thus making their slumber last longer. A basic rejuvenating plant should revive them."

"Then do you need us to help you with that?" Touya offered. It was very kind of him to ask since he dreaded Keiko's revival.

The fox graciously said that he could handle everything and that Touya and Yukina should relax and think about what to say to the three when they awoke.

Yukina took his suggestion, but her thoughts continued to wander to Touya, Shishi, and Kuwabara. It was flattering that three such strong, brave fighters would be willing to date her, a shy, weak apparition.

However, she understood why Hiei didn't want her to date Kuwabara. As nice as the guy was, he was still a human, and their differences could pose a problem in their relationship. Other demons might disapprove and make things difficult for them, not to mention other humans might notice Kuwabara aging faster than Yukina. There was a very small chance that their relationship would end happily, and Yukina knew Kuwabara deserved to live contentedly with a nice human girl.

And that left her with Touya and Shishiwakamaru. The logical choice would, of course, be Touya. The Ice Master was so much more reliable than Shishi. But Yukina couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to date such a different, exciting person like Shishiwakamaru. He represented new, wondrous chances to really live life to its fullest.

On the other hand, Touya was so sweet and kind. He would always be there for her, and she knew that if there were any guy the Koorime might accept, it would be a pleasant ice demon like him. Plus there would be less chance of rabid fangirls out to kill her.

It was a difficult decision that had to be made. She would never think of dating both of them, as that would be very dishonorable. So who to choose?

Oh, life could be very cruel at times. You spend a lifetime yearning for love, and then suddenly you're forced to decide which guy you like better. Yukina was simply too kindhearted for this...

The apparition pulled herself from her thoughts in time to witness Kurama holding a foreign plant close to Keiko's unmoving form. With a bit of ki, he coaxed the plant into blooming and releasing a pleasant-smelling gas into the air.

Within a few moments, Keiko was awake, and Kurama moved on to Yusuke. The girl sat up groggily and muttered, "Wh... what happened? Where am I?"

She glanced around at Yukina and Touya, then to where Kurama was reviving Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when memories came flooding back. "Touya... and Botan! And poor, poor Hiei... And Kurama - you insulted us!"

Yukina smiled gently and answered, "Please, everyone, calm down and let us explain."

Keiko's eyes narrowed at Touya. "What's there to explain? I understood what was going on perfectly."

By then, Yusuke and Kuwabara had awakened and began asking questions. Its job done, the rejuvenating plant was set aside, and Kurama turned his attention to his guests.

"Keiko, I'm afraid we haven't been very truthful to you..."

"What?! You lied to us?" Yusuke asked dubiously. He and Kuwabara sat on the floor beside each other, wearing identical looks of confusion.

"Hiei never fell in love with Botan!" Yukina explained quickly. "It was all an act to fool Koenma. Only now Koenma knows everything, and he and Shizuru have gone to get access to Happy Island for the group date! Oh, and guess what?!"

"What is it?" Keiko asked, startled.

With a girlish giggle, the apparition exclaimed, "I got asked out by Touya AND Shishiwakamaru!"

Devastated, Kuwabara gaped at his love. "But... Both of them?! Asked YOU?! But I thought..."

Yusuke laughed at his friend. "Guess you weren't quick enough to get her, ne?"

"Shut up, Urameshi!" Kuwabara growled. Then he turned to the only rival present and exclaimed, "Touya! How could you date Botan, and then ask my Yukina out?!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Touya defended himself. "Botan wanted me to ask her out, okay?! And I never went on a date with Botan!"

With a sigh, Keiko calmly stated, "I would like an explanation, please."

Together, Touya, Yukina, and Kurama obliged by giving a summary of what really went on. When they were through, the three stared at them blankly, trying to get the facts straight.

"So...everyone lied to us? And we were the last to find out about all of this?!" Keiko inquired coolly, her temper rising.

Kurama was the only one who didn't mind Keiko's temper, so he answered truthfully, "Yes."

"You're not going to get violent, are you?" Touya questioned worriedly.

She was ready to say yes, but then weariness set in. Keiko had had enough fighting for now - maybe it would just be smarter to listen to all that logic and reason hidden behind her rage.

"No... Just..." Keiko sighed. "Whatever. I don't care! Obviously, Botan doesn't need or want my help, and it's really none of my business."

All four guys stared at her, wondering what brought on this sudden change of heart. But Yukina understood completely sympathized with the girl.

"Keiko, it's not that Botan doesn't want you to help. I'm sure she would be glad to have your help! But she's in love with Hiei, and you know how he emotionally fragile he is. Botan wanted to be careful not to hurt his feelings by telling you something he wanted kept secret," Yukina clarified kindly.

"Yes, I understand that, but why did I find out after everyone else, and only because you three would tell me? I thought Botan was one of my best friends! She should have come to me if she needed help!"

Finally understanding how Keiko felt, Kurama said, "Perhaps if you had controlled your temper, she would have felt free to do so."

"I... I can't help it, okay?!" Keiko replied defensively. "It's just... Oh kami, I should've been there for her! It's all my fault... And Touya, I'm so sorry! If I hadn't jumped to conclusions..."

"Don't worry about it. It's okay," Touya replied, pitying her.

"No, it's not okay! I'm a horrible person!" Keiko argued. Then her emotions finally drove her to the limit, and she burst into tears. Yukina rushed to her side and pulled the girl into a hug, comforting her with kind words.

The four guys could only stare helplessly, clueless as to what one does with a sobbing female.

"Do you think this is a bad time to ask her to go on the group date with me...?" Kurama muttered.

Yusuke glared at him. "She can't date you!"

"But... we'd only be going as friends! And I promised Shizuru I would get a date..." Kurama explained feebly.

"Never mind that, guys. I have a bigger problem!" Kuwabara announced. "Touya, I can't believe you would make a move on MY girl!"

"I'm sorry, Kuwabara, but you really should move on to someone else. Hiei has forbidden her to date you or Shishi," Touya responded.

"And why on Earth would Shishi ask her out? Doesn't he have enough dates already?!"

"Didn't you know? Yukina is a Shishiwakamaru fangirl!" Kurama told him.

Incredulously, Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at the fox and then at Yukina.

Upon overhearing them, Keiko forgot all about her problems and ceased sobbing. Shocked out of her broken state, she exclaimed, "Nani?! That's... impossible!"

"Yes, that was my reaction too..." Touya muttered sadly.

Yukina glanced around nervously and apologized. She had no idea the news would have such an impact!

"Oh, you don't have to apologize! There's nothing wrong with liking Shishi - it's just..." Kurama trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Yusuke finished, "Very, very shocking!"

"It's not her fault. His fan club forced her to join!" Touya explained.

Sensing that nothing could reduce their surprise, Kurama reasoned, "Please, for the sake of everyone's sanity, just try not to think about Shishiwakamaru and Yukina as a couple. Instead, let's focus on the problems at hand."

Everyone muttered his or her consent, reluctant to leave the bizarre subject. After all, it wasn't every day that honest tabloid-worthy gossip presented itself.

The fox continued, "I still need a date. I had hoped Keiko might accompany me as a friend, but Yusuke..."

"There's NO way you're taking Keiko!" Yusuke reminded him.

Emotions stabilized once more, Keiko gaped. "Are... are you asking me out?"

"What?!" shrieked Yusuke.

"Kurama, did you really ask me out on a date?" Keiko asked again, hopeful.

"Ummm..." Kurama's eyes widened, sensing another fangirl in the making. "You see, Shizuru was only willing to date Koenma if I found a date too, and you're the only sensible girl I know well enough to ask. But since Yusuke objects, I'm afraid I can't take you..."

In most situations, Keiko was indeed sensible. However, she was still just as feminine as any other girl, and Kurama, the most popular boy to ever set foot in Japan, had just asked her out.

Okay, so maybe she already had a boyfriend, and the date was supposed to be completely platonic. But those were just minor details that couldn't prevent Keiko's heart from flip-flopping and her eyes from shining with hope.

"I'll go with you! On the date!" she blurted out, unable to stop herself.

"R-really?" the fox asked nervously. "As a friend doing a favor for another friend, right? No romance at all?"

"Yes, yes, of course," she assured hurriedly.

"No, no, no! She will NOT be going with you, as a friend OR a girlfriend!" Yusuke protested.

Kuwabara smirked. "Haha, Urameshi, your girl doesn't want you any more!"

"You're one to talk - Yukina likes _two_ guys better than you and even joined someone else's fan club!" argued Yusuke.

Yukina frowned but didn't have the chance to say anything before Kuwabara yelled, "Shut up!"

"You shut up!" Yusuke took a step closer.

"You!" Kuwabara did the same.

"You!" They both went into battle stance.

"Both of you, shut up!" Keiko intervened. "Yusuke, you can't tell me not to go! I'm just doing him a favor as a FRIEND, ok?!"

"I saw that look you gave him! You'd be happy to date a bishounen like him. Admit it - you like him better than me!" Yusuke bellowed heatedly. "I bet the only reason you ever liked me in the first place was to get closer to Kurama! Tell me, Keiko: how long have you been a member of his fan club?"

Knowing Keiko and Yusuke were about to get into a fight, Kuwabara backed away quickly. He didn't want to get caught in the middle of this! Everyone else felt the same and took a step back, giving the couple plenty of space.

Keiko's eyes narrowed. "Don't be ridiculous, Yusuke! I've always loved you!"

"Then why do you want to date Kurama so much?!"

"BECAUSE I OWE IT TO HIM!" Keiko screamed. Any control she'd had over her temper disappeared. "After all of the problems I've created, this is the least I could do!"

"Yeah, right! Do I really look that stupid to you?! Pretty boys like Kurama always get all the girls!" Yusuke pointed at Kuwabara and continued, "It's just like Yukina choosing Touya and Shishi over Kuwabara because he's just some ugly, stupid human!"

"Hey!" Kuwabara said, offended. "That's just mean!"

"Yeah, well, welcome to the real world!" Yusuke said. "Face it, Kuwabara: we're just tools to get to the bishounen!"

"Yusuke, how dare you-" Keiko began.

Her attitude as cold as her icy nature, Yukina interrupted, "Yusuke, I can't believe you actually think I see Kazuma as 'some ugly, stupid human'. That is the most simple-minded thing I have ever heard! Honestly, I'm confused about my feelings for all three, and your silly assumptions aren't helping."

To everyone's vast surprise, she glared at him frigidly. She resembled her brother, making it even scarier to everyone. Perhaps her crush on Shishi was just the beginning of a new side of Yukina...

Quickly taking advantage of everyone's speechlessness, Keiko added, "You and Kuwabara aren't tools! Yusuke, how many times will I have to tell you this before you stop doubting me? I love you - only you - and I always will!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Yusuke responded feebly with no arguments left to yell. But he still had plenty of anger and no way to let it out. That left him with one choice. "That's it, I'm outta here!"

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sighing, Keiko said sadly, "He's so moody sometimes, I swear he's just as bad as me!"

"Should we go after him?" Touya asked tentatively.

"I'll go," offered Kuwabara. He knew Yusuke better than most people did, so he was the only one who had a chance at reasoning with him.

After Kuwabara left, Kurama turned to Keiko, "You don't really want to date me, do you?"

"It's very flattering for you to ask me! But... No, I don't think I can. I want to help you, but Yusuke needs me so much more right now," Keiko explained with a sympathetic look.

"I see. Then I'm in need of a date."

Yukina spoke up, "Kurama, perhaps I have a solution..."

"What is it?"

"Well... would you be willing to date yourself?" Yukina asked with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Oh dear, Yukina has become uncharacteristic yet again.

"Nani?!"

Yukina and Keiko huddled together, whispering. After a few moments of conference, they turned to Kurama with grins.

"It could work! It's a crazy, silly plan, but it just might work!" Keiko announced cheerfully, already forgetting Yusuke.

"What are you talking about? Surely you're not suggesting what I think you are..." Kurama said desperately.

Touya raised an eyebrow. "What in the three worlds are you two planning?"

"Kurama can't find a date, so he can just date himself! It's simple, really..."

Yukina and Keiko explained the idea to two dubious demons: Kurama would appear on the date, and then make an excuse to leave. Then his 'date' would arrive, which would really just be Kurama dressed up. And then when his 'date' left, Kurama would return, and so on.

When the girls were finished, Touya laughed, and Kurama blanched.

"That's a HORRIBLE idea!" Kurama exclaimed as Touya said, "That's hilarious!"

"Oh, come on, Kurama - would you rather date someone else? A fangirl, perhaps?" Keiko offered. "Or Genkai? Shishi or Suzuka? Really, fox, do you know of anyone you'd like to date?"

"No males, please," he replied, slightly offended. "And certainly not Genkai!"

"But if you just date yourself, it solves all your problems!"

"There is no way I'm dressing in drag for half the date!"

"Aw, Kurama, but why not? It'll be fun, and just think of the lovely memories," Touya teased. He was all for the plan!

"No."

"Please? For us?" Keiko pleaded.

"No!"

"Oh, but if you don't, then Yukina will be horribly disappointed! She came up with this idea, and you wouldn't even give it a try!" Keiko nudged Yukina, and she quickly put on an adorable pout, rivaling a kitten in its powerful cuteness.

"No!" the fox said again.

With the addition of watery eyes, Yukina's expression went up several levels on the scale of cuteness.

"No..." Kurama stated, less firmly.

Yukina topped of the charming act by pleading, "Pwease?"

"N-no..." Kurama answered. But then, to his surprise, he said, "Well... alright..."

"Wonderful!" Yukina exclaimed with a grin. "Now let's begin..."

"Wait, begin what?" Kurama asked, panicked.

Keiko answered, "Why, dressing up as your date, of course! You don't expect to pull this off without practice, do you?"

"Now, hang on a minute, I don't think I want to do this any more..."

"Too late now, fox!" Keiko and Yukina approached him with evil grins, already planning his new look.

And for the first time in quite a while, Kurama felt utter fear...

* * *

A fully-grown Botan woke up, wearing unfamiliar clothing. She could tell immediately by the stark cleanliness of the white room that she was in a hospital. How she arrived and where Hiei was, though, remained a mystery. 

A nurse entered, and Botan startled her by asking, "What am I doing here?"

"Oh! So you're finally awake?" The nurse smiled kindly at her. "You don't remember what happened?"

"No, I don't. "

"Let me fill you in..." The nurse quickly explained: A health inspector made a surprise appearance at Starbucks and discovered two unconscious adults (although the age of the boy was questionable, due to his height) dressed in children's clothing inside the closet. They were brought to the hospital, and the Starbucks employees received appropriate consequences.

Botan's eyes widened, and she gasped. "Oh, Hiei... he was really an adult?"

"Yes, though a rather short one," the nurse answered.

Giggling, the onna replied, "He's always been vertically challenged. So, where is he now?"

"He left a while ago - wouldn't even let us check him for injuries! That silly boy- er, man."

"Where did he go?!" she asked, alarmed. She couldn't lose Hiei now that she knew he loved her!

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know. He just ran off as soon as he woke up!"

"Oh... well, that's alright then. Do you have any food?" Botan requested. Since their Starbucks venture had failed, hospital food would have to suffice.

"Certainly. I'll be right back," the nurse said as she left.

Botan couldn't believe Hiei was gone. Once he finally admitted his love for her, everything was supposed to be happy! They would go on dates and have fun with each other, and maybe he would even open up to her.

But she should have known he would do something like that. He was always running away from his problems! Well, not for long, if Botan had anything to do with it. She would have to search for him, and when she found him... well, who knows? Hiei was an odd demon, even by Makai's standards. There was simply no telling how he would react now that they both knew they were in love.

The nurse returned with Botan's meal, and the onna halted her thoughts. She would worry about that later - for now, it was time to eat!

* * *

Hiei had nowhere to go. 

After leaving the hospital, he went straight to a tree where he had hidden spare clothes and sword. He couldn't wait to get out of these weird ningen clothes the hospital provided for him! The fire demon changed in a flash and then stood silently on a tree limb, thinking.

Where would he go?

Certainly not back to Botan. He escaped from the hospital because of her, so there was no way he would go back. No, it was better to avoid her than to face the truth... There was no way Hiei could possibly love _her_.

That left him with no obvious place to go. Of course, he could always visit Kurama and see how that was going, or see how Koenma and Shizuru were doing, but he didn't really want to.

In fact, the only place he could think of going was back to Botan.

Hiei scowled. He was so pathetic! Some stupid baka onna had him rethinking his lifelong principles, and now he actually thought he was in love? Ha! No matter what he may think, there was no way his heart could love her! It was simply impossible. The very thought was absurd.

Shaking all thoughts of Botan out of his mind, Hiei decided to go to Kurama's house and see what was happening.

He soon arrived at the tree outside of Kurama's bedroom window, only to find Shishi, Suzuka, and Jin were already there.

"What are you three doing here?!" he demanded to know. Silently, he wondered why Kurama let the three stay since there was no doubt the fox was aware of their presence.

"Waiting for the chance to convince my beloved Yukina to date me, of course," Shishiwakamaru answered matter-of-factly.

"Beloved? Hn!" Hiei objected. "Yukina is not yours, baka, and never will be, so leave her alone!"

"Hmph! You can't tell me what to do!"

"Aw, come on guys! Shut up before they hear us!" Jin said. Then, getting a good look at Hiei, he asked, "Heeey, how did you grow back?"

"Did you finally kiss your 'true love'?" Suzuka teased with a mocking tone.

The fire demon refused to answer. Instead, Hiei questioned, "What's happening in there?"

Letting Hiei get away with avoiding the question, Jin filled him in, "Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yusuke have woken up already, Keiko ended up crying, and then Kurama asked Keiko to the group date."

"She had better accept!" Suzuka said. "She'd be stupid not to."

Hiei recalled Botan telling him that Keiko and Yusuke were in love. "But... I thought she loved Yusuke."

"So? Kurama is the better choice!"

Faintly, Keiko's acceptance could be heard.

"Oh, Urameshi won't stand for this!" Jin predicted. And he was soon proven right when Keiko and Yusuke's arguing was heard, loud and clear.

"I bet she's going to slap him!" Suzuka said. But Yukina interfered before that could happen. Upon seeing her glare, Hiei smirked proudly.

Shishi wondered aloud, "Is this a good time to go in?"

"No, wait until someone storms out, and then you can make a dramatic entrance," Suzuka advised him.

And sure enough, Yusuke stormed out.

"Now should I go?" Shishi asked Suzuka.

"Hang on, Kuwabara's about to go after Yusuke!" Jin said.

After Kuwabara's departure, Shishi asked, "NOW is it a good time?"

"Yes, a perfect time," Suzuka answered.

"Finally!" he said as they prepared to enter.

However, they were soon stopped when someone shouted from below, "Hey, you! What on Earth are you four doing in a tree?"

Dreading what they would see, the four guys looked down to find Shiori staring back at them.

"Who is THAT?!" Shishi demanded.

"Kurama's ningen mother," Hiei answered.

Shiori called to them again, "You can come down now! Hey, is that you, Hiei?"

"Uhhh, what do we do?" asked Jin, worried.

"Run!" commanded Suzuka in blind panic.

The four demons scattered in separate directions, leaving a very confused Shiori staring at the vacated tree.

"I was just going to invite them inside… I guess not all homeless people appreciate pity," she murmured to herself. Then, with a shrug, the clueless, kind Shiori walked back inside.


End file.
